Twilights Dawn
by Cervani
Summary: What if the Kyuubi attack was not all as it seemed, and Naruto had more family then he knew? At the end of the Twilight, there is always Dawn. AU, NaruHina, OCFemKyuu, later OCHarem... possible other pairings.
1. Twilight

Greetings! This is my first venture into the wonderful world of Naruto.

Pairings: NaruHina, the others are undecided at the moment.

Summary: What if not all was as it seemed? The village is in chaos as the great Kyuubi attacks, but not everything is as it looks!

AU, Rated M for graphic detail and possible lemon in later chapters.

* * *

Darkness….

That was all that surrounded the Konohagakure Village, pale wisps of cloud teasing in the skies. Three figures, shadowed in the twilight, stood looking out towards the horizon, a faint red glow permeating through that fateful darkness that surrounded them.

"So it comes down to this. I never thought I'd see this day." One shadow shifted, as if uncomfortable with the words it just spoke, before it sighed, "What do you plan on doing now Hokage-sama? If the reports are true….." He trailed off, gazing out at the red light as it seemed to glow ominously on the horizon.

"Hai, but I will do what I can. We cannot let it reach the village. Have the ANBU stationed in the forest begin preparations for the assault. We MUST not let it reach past the front lines," The first figure spoke, a faint whisper of cloth as the coat covering him shifted in the late night breeze, " I will begin my own preparations." Turning, he disappeared from sight, a telltale yellow flash being left in his wake. The two other figures gazed at each other for a brief moment, before turning to look outwards. Soon, very soon, it would all come to a head…

* * *

A flash illuminated the small room, before he stepped out, worry in his blue gaze as he moved over towards the motionless body on the bed before him. Turning towards the med-nin standing by, he nodded towards the still form of his wife.

"I…I'm sorry Hokage-sama. Her injuries, they just….,"The med-nin broke down, sobbing quietly into her hands. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes as he moved towards the side of the bed, leaning down to tenderly grasp her hands, once so warm in life, now slowly seeping into the cold ache of death. A whimper teased the bed-ridden woman's lips, soft green eyes gazing up into the glistening blue of her beloved husband, a wane smile crossing her face, red hair fanned out beneath her.

"Mah mah mah Kushi-chan, you look…well." A tear slowly slid down his cheek as he clasped her hands, crouching down beside her. "Neh teishu, y-you don't have to lie to me," The woman's soft words broke what little control he had, the tears coming freely down his cheek. She smiled, shakily reaching up with one hand to brush the wet trails from his cheek. "J-just promise me, that you'll take care of our boys, please." Those last words spoken such a soft pleading tone broke his heart, watching as the one he loved for so long laid back…a soft exhalation of breath marking the quiet passing of his beloved.

He stayed silent for a moment, before getting to his feet and looking towards the med-nin. "Boys? I thought there was only one?" Blue gaze furrowed. That might complicate things.

"Iie, there was two. I'm so sorry Hokage-sama, I should have come and got you as soon as…" The words died, a hand quieting her as he walked over towards the two swathed bundles, gazing down into the sleepily blinking faces. "It's ok Rin, you didn't know." Smiling, he reached down, gently picking them up…before a quiet sob broke through his calm façade. "Forgive me for what must be done. I will pay for my sin for all eternity, but know this little ones…I will be watching you, now and forever."

Her brow furrowing at the whispered words, Rin opened her mouth to speak, cut off as a bright yellow flash marked where the man once stood. Sighing, she turned towards the motionless body on the bed, eyes closed in peaceful repose. "Oh Minato-sama, please don't do anything too rash.

* * *

"Hold the line! We can't let the beast through!"

"Iie! It's no use! Any jutsu we use doesn't seem to have an effect. Where's Hokage-sama?"

"Silence! He'll get here when he can." The ninja stopped, turning to gaze at the man behind them, flinching at the suppressed anger in his pale white eyes. "What's the status of the beast?"

"Hiashi-sama, it broke through the first ANBU lines and started to make its way here. We couldn't do anything... no matter what we threw at it, it still came back!" said a bear-masked ANBU, shaking his head wearily.

"It doesn't matter, we need to hold the beast off as long as possible until Hokage-sama gets he-…" Hiashi was jerked back, his words cut off at the loud explosion nearby. Turning, the ANBU gaped at the monstrous fox towering above them, the dark laughter drifting through the air as nine glowing tails wafted on the air behind it.

"**Worthless insects!"** It laughed again, one tail flicking out towards an encroaching ANBU squad. Wind whistled as a tornado whisked across the forest, trees tossed aside like kindling before slamming into the fleeing ANBU. Screams of pain echoed through the forest, while all throughout the dark laughter rang, shrinking hearts and devouring courage.

"We have to do something! We won't last much longer like this." called the bear-masked ANBU, slowly crawling out of the wreckage of an overturned tree. Hiashi said nothing, gazing upwards at the massive fox, the glint of shuriken and kunai flitting through the air catching on the fiery red glow of its fur. A massive roar shattered the air, the steel instruments being flung back and away, whistling through the trees like deadly sparrows before slapping into trees and ninja alike…wails of pain echoing in the dark forest. "KAITEN!" echoed throughout the trees, a bright blue glow illuminating the forest floor before disappearing as soon as it began, the deadly steel repelled away from the remaining ANBU…a winded Hiashi standing in the circular depression.

"You've done well old friend." whispered a quiet voice behind him, causing him to spin before slowly relaxing. Sighing softly, he walked towards them, gazing momentarily at the twin white bundles held in his arms. "Is that--?" He stopped, a sharp intake of breath as he gazed into the glistening eyes of his friend, the white coat whipping about him…red flames almost seeming real in the unholy glow of the beast above them.

"Hiashi, my old friend. I have one last favor to ask of you." The words, spoken softly so as to avoid the suspicion of the ANBU flitting about in the darkness, conveyed more sadness and sorrow then Hiashi ever through possible in one man.

"Hai Minato, what is it?"

"I want you to watch over my boys," he said, tears still glistening in the red light falling down his cheeks. "Please make sure nothing happens to them. Their lives will be…." He halted, unable to continue, eyes slowly squeezed shut.

"Hai Hokage-sama, I understand." Yet to be truthful he didn't. In fact he was confused. What had happened? And more importantly why was he worried about his children. Realization slowly dawned on him, pale eyes opening wide as he spun around towards his friend, his leader. "NO! Minato, there must be some oth--," he flinched, a yellow flash cutting off his words before he quietly continued, "…way."

He turned towards the mighty kitsune before him, a loud poof following the enormous cloud of smoke off to the beasts' right. Shaking, he fell to his knees, hands coming up to cover his face. For the first time in his life, Hiashi cried…

* * *

"Oy Minato! What the hell did you summon m--," the rough words were cut off as the massive body of the fox slowly turned towards the source, glittering red gaze glowing in the darkness of the night.

"**What's this now, frog legs! Mmmm, a side of human too. I could use an ****aperitif****." ** A loud roar echoed after its words, teeth glinting in the evil grin splitting across its face as it faced the two figures in front of it.

"Kyuubi…," the massive toad rumbled, one great eye rolling upwards to glance at the man atop his head. "So this is why you called me out." Nodding down towards the toad boss he crouched, gently setting the two white bundles down on the knobby forehead. "Help me out boss, I think I'm going to need it with this one," he murmured, before standing and looking out towards Kyuubi.

Gazing into the dark glittering eyes of the Kyuubi, he slowly started forming hand seals. Tears slowly started to reform as images flashed through his mind. Him, in the Great Ninja War. The cheering crowds of the village as he stood out on the tower waving. His love, Kushina, gazing out onto the stars with him. The still body of his beloved beneath the stark white covers of the hospital bed.

Blue eyes radiated with sadness as he gazed down at the twin pairs of blue eyes blinking sleepily up at him. "I'm sorry my sons." Anguish, grief, so raw that the mighty toad beneath him flinched in sympathy. All he had wanted was a quiet life, or rather as quiet as a ninja could get. Ironic then, that it would be snatched out of his hands by the tempestuous nature of fate, and sacrificed.

"KYUUBI! NO MORE!" Tears glistening in the bright depths, his hands blurred as he picked up the pace, a faint blue outline of chakra wafting about his body.

Snorting, the great beast turned and laughed at the two before it. "**You?! A pathetic human ****seeks to**** destroy ME?!"** It laughed again, splitting for a moment almost as if two voices shared the same throat. "**Come mortal, and once you die I will feast on your village!" **The ground shook as the great beast, Kyuubi no Kitsune, sprinted towards the unmoving toad and its master.

"SHIKI FUJIN!" His voice rang out. Time seemed to stop for the ninja on the ground, a cold wind whispering through the trees. Hiashi stiffened, running towards the group of ANBU nearby and gazing up through the clearing towards the massive toad above them. "No, he couldn't! He wouldn't!" He took a step backwards, before he hung his head with a quiet sigh. "Now I see Minato." The battle clad old man behind him shook his head, sighing as well.

The air seemed to ripple behind him as he thrust out his hands towards the Kyuubi, who skidded to a halt. "FOOL! Don't you know what you've done!?" Silence answered it as the form of the great shinigami slowly took form behind it. Kyuubi watched, transfixed, as the great God of Death slid its hands above the quivering form of the Yondaime…hands once more blurring into another set of seals. "Hakke no Fuin Shiki: Shishio Fuin! " Closing his outthrust hands, he made a jerking motion, a massive white light flashing in the night sky….

Shielding their eyes from the blinding flash of light, Hiashi and his aged companion gazed upwards, the only sign of anything that had taken place being the large column of smoke before it too disappeared, the chill wind dispersing it into the sky.

"No, why did he do it. Damnit it should have been ME!" the old man cried out, before hanging his head in resignation. "The young perish before the old. Why is it always so?" Hiashi shook himself and turned towards him, shaking his head slowly. They both ignored the shouted cries, the exclamations of the Kyuubis demise filling the air as the weary ninja flitted past them towards the village. Only the squad of ANBU remained with the two figures.

"Hiashi-sama, Sandaime-sama…what shall we do?"

Their words were cut off by a yellow flash, signaling the return of their beloved Yondaime. He walked over towards them, before stumbling, falling to his knees and bowing his head…a low rumble echoing in the sky as rain started to slowly pelt downwards. The yellow crowned head slowly raised, a weak smile flitting across the lips, handing the two crying bundles to the nearest ANBU. "It's done. The Kyuubi will no longer threaten the village." Those soft-spoken words snapped the two out of their reverie, dashing over towards him just as he collapsed backwards into the arms of the Sandaime. Weakly opening his eyes, he gazed upwards at the two faces of his dearest friends, shivering into the warm water of the rain.

"Hiashi…remember…y-your promise." With a great sigh, the piercing blue eyes closed before settling back into the outstretched arms of the Sandaime.

"And so passes the greatest Hokage." Hiashi bowed his head, before twin cries echoed in the night. The ANBU, startled, shifted uneasily before looking towards the two figures in front of them. "You two, make for the Hokage tower immediately. We'll be there shortly."

"HAI!" Twin figures blurred with speed as they disappeared, the rest of the ANBU forming a litter and gently placing the still body of the Yondaime on top. Turning, they made the slow trek back to the village, unbeknownst to the glint of yellow eyes in the distance gazing on the village of Konoha

* * *

Cheers echoed in the streets of Konoha, but not as many as one would think. Wives and husbands, daughters and sons, all were touched in some way by the bitterness of victory. Hundreds of shinobi had died in the attack, though the great Kyuubi had never gone within a kunai throwing distance from the walls….

Oblivious to the cheers and cries outside, the quiet murmur of people inside the office of the Hokage stilled as Sarutobi once more sat heavily into the seat. Tears shifted down his cheek. The Yondaime had been like a son to him, but did not show his tears. He had died as he would have wanted, in defense of his village. Raising his gaze, he looked out at the gathered people before him. Shinobi, elders, clan heads…all waiting for some sort of news as to their beloved Hokage. And the two squirming bundles before him.

"The Yondaime is dead, having died to protect that which he loved so much," The words sounded hollow in his ears, lifeless, "It is with heavy heart that I once more take up the office of Hokage." He looked down upon the two open bundles before him, the soft crying of two babies echoing in the office to the wonderment of all gathered. "Hokage-sama, are those…?" said a dog-masked ANBU, gazing down at the golden haired children on the desk. "Hai, these are the children of the late Yondaime."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd, whispers of what they should do before they stopped…an elder stepping forward. "And what are those designs on their stomach? Surely they weren't born with it." More murmurs followed his words, whispers of "seal" permeating through the crowd.

"Yes, you are correct. These are seals, used by the late Yondaime to seal the Kyuubi no Kitsune within his own two children. From this moment on, no word shall leave this office of the events which had transpired. I'm branding this an S-Class secret, punishable by death." Sarutobi sighed, eyes closing before loud yells erupted through the crowd.

"Kill them then! KILL THE DEMONS!"

"Look at that one!"

"Hai, don't let them live Hokage-sama! The Kyuubi should be destroyed while we have the chance!"

Hiashi looked on in shock. Shinobi and council alike calling for the deaths of two helpless infants? He turned, pale eyes wide as he gazed upon one child. It was odd. Almost like there were…ears…on top of the head. Gasps were heard in the crowd, the crying child picked up by Sandaime and shushed, slowly rocking back and forth…the tip of a tail waving in view.

"IT'S THE DEMON! KILL IT NOW!"

The crowd roared, attempting to move towards the desk. ANBU pushed through the crowd, shocked as fellow shinobi and even ANBU attempted to get towards the two babies laying on the desk. "**ENOUGH!"** The crowd stopped, stunned, as faces turned towards the Hyuuga Clan leader. "Hai, you are correct esteemed elders." The council nodded, grins dispersed throughout the crowd as Hiashi adopted the traditional Jyuuken stance. It was short lived however, as he turned towards the crowd, the pronounced veins of the Byakugan around his eyes. "No one shall touch these children, as long as the Hyuuga Clan exists. IS THIS UNDERSTOOD?!" Faces blanched as they gazed at the livid face of the Hyuuga Head, before murmuring and stepping back…muted "Hai"s whispered throughout the crowd.

"You are dismissed. Return to your stations." Sarutobi waved a hand, still holding the whimpering child in his hands as they filed out, hate filled glares flitting towards the children before only the Hokage, Hiashi and one ANBU remained inside. With a sigh, he gently set the child down, shaking his head. "This has just taken a turn for the worst I'm afraid. At least this one will have to leave the village. I'm afraid of what may happen if he stayed." He glanced down at the giggling one, twin fox ears twitching on top of its head. Leaning down, he examined the inside of the swath. _Namikaze Arashi._ He gathered up the other, gazing down at the sleepy face before smiling softly. _Namikaze Naruto._

_"_Hokage-sama, is it wise to let them keep their fathers name? We all know how many enemies he had." Hiashi glanced up towards the dog-masked ANBU who spoke, before looking back down to the two in the Sandaime's arms. "That is true Kakashi-san, though I doubt that the one leaving the village will need it. What of Naruto?" Sarutobi nodded, before gazing over towards the ANBU, the mask now hanging off to the side to show the face beneath. Kakashi, turned and walked towards the desk, a smile barely seen behind his customary mask. "I will watch over the boy Hokage-sama. It may be better however, if he adopted his mother's maiden name." Hiashi nodded, gazing at little Arashi before he sighed.

"And what of this one? He would not survive long in the village with ears and a tail. It will be hard enough for Naruto to live, as it is with his whisker marks." Muttering as he picked up his pipe, Sarutobi gazed down at desk, before sighing. "It can't be helped. He will need to be removed from the village for the time being. Hiashi, I know of a place where you can take him. If I am of the right mind, I know both boys will soon be following their father's footsteps into the shinobi world." Nodding, Hiashi smiled and gently picked up the boy…gazing with his usual stoic expression at the two. "Very well, I will come tomorrow before I leave. Until then, it might be best if I took them to watch over until the time the one leaves. Both shall receive the full protection of the Hyuuga clan."

"Hai, and I will watch over the boys as much as I can between missions. I have a feeling they'll be needing it soon enough," Kakashi blew out a long breath, before turning towards the door. "I will return to my patrol Hokage-sama. Hiashi-sama, if you need me you know where to look." With a bow, he poofed out of sight.

"I will take my leave now Sarutobi-sama, my wife is due any minute and I'm sure she'll be overjoyed to watch over these two until then." Bowing as he gently took the two, he turned and walked out the door…a bodyguard outside opening an umbrella for the trip back.

Sarutobi slowly turned in his seat, gazing out through the rain-swept glass at the rumbling skies, unshed tears staining his cheeks once more…

* * *

And there you have it! My first venture into the Narutoverse. It's been awhile since I started planning this, so I figured I'd venture away from TM! And OS and try and Naruto fic.

I have everything planned up till beyond the Chuunin exam, so hopefully new chapters will come up fast.

R&R! The only truly official pairing I have is NaruHina. If you have any ideas or votes on what the others should be, by all means let me know! Ja ne!

Hakke no Fuin Shiki: Shishio Fuin - Eight Trigrams Sealing Style: Four Symbols Seal

Shiki Fujin – Dead Demon Seal


	2. Nights End

Ohayo! The second chapter is up a little bit faster than I thought I would write it (I got bored . ). But just to clarify some things reviewers told me.

1) No, only Arashi has the ears/tail/whisker marks (at the moment any way). Naruto only has the whisker marks. The reason for this will be explained in this chapter, as well as how Kyuubi will manifest later (Though that may be a little further on near the Genin Exam).

2)I know some people aren't all that up on Japanese, so any words I use will have their definitions down at the bottom of the page (Jutsus will have their definitions right next to them in ())

Anyway that just about covers i-

Naruto: OI! I WANT EARS AND A TAIL TOO!

Cerv: Ehehe, erhm….FLEE

Naruto: HEY, GET BACK HERE!

"Speech"

'_Thought_'

"**Kyuubi speech" **

"_**Kyuubi Thought"**_

* * *

_Sarutobi slowly turned in his seat, gazing out through the rain-swept glass at the rumbling skies, unshed tears staining his cheeks once more…_

The rain continued to gently pelt downwards, the soft rumble of thunder echoing in the dim empty streets of Konoha. It was now the morning after the attack by the great Kyuubi no Kitsune and every citizen of Konoha was gathered at the memorial for the Yondaime Hokage. Quiet weeping filled the crowd, shinobi and citizens alike were hanging their heads in the downpour, each quiet as they remembered their beloved Hokage in their own fashion.

Hiashi stood off to the side with his family, gazing silently at the tombstone that marked the resting place of his oldest friend Minato. Soft whimpering broke out beside him, and he turned with a slight smile towards his wife Hikari…the little bundle resting in her arms squirming, a peek of bluish hair coming from the swath. 'Well, not everything last night was a total loss. The village still stands, yet it feels so empty.' Hiashi sighed. 'Was this truly what you wished Minato?'

He glanced towards the two branch house members off to the side, twin bundles almost identical to the one his wife held laying fitfully in their arms. It was almost as if they knew, and were honoring their father in their own way. Hiashi almost laughed at the idea, but then again there were far stranger things in the shinobi world. He frowned, closing his eyes as he remembered the night before.

_Flashback_

Walking briskly through the streets, the branch member hurrying up alongside of him to keep the umbrella over them, Hiashi couldn't help but notice the stares coming his way. Weak killing intent seemed to shower him almost like the rain from above, causing him to mentally sigh. Even after all that was said, the populace wasn't going to forgive so easily if at all. He ignored them for the time being however, a more pressing matter weighing on his mind. He almost broke out into a run, before mentally checking himself.

After all, it wouldn't do to have the Hyuuga Head running through the rain. The fools might get the wrong impression, and kami knows they didn't need that. Not after last night.

Moving as quickly as etiquette and his own sense allowed him, he nodded absently to the guard at the gates of the Hyuuga clan house, brushing past and inside. A soft cry broke the silence, and he stopped. Letting out a breath he didn't he had held, he moved towards the repeating cry, worries melting away as he recognized it. A small smile flitted across his lips, one of the few he allowed himself, as he made his way towards his inner chambers to listen outside the door.

"One more push Hikari-sama, you're almost done"

A soft bawling filled the air, before a quiet voice answered it. "H-how is she?" Hiashi pushed open the door and stepped inside, pale eyes taking in the situation before him.

His wife lying exhausted on the bed, damp sheets clinging to her limp body. Yet her eyes betrayed anxiousness as she gazed at the wriggling baby in the arms of the mid-wife who stood, before both women looked towards the opening and closing of the sliding door. Hikari smiled, before blinking. "Hiashi, what are those? They almost look like –," Hikari sucked in a deep breath, looking from the two babies cradled in her husband's arms to the sadness clouding his eyes.

Moving over towards his wife, Hiashi gently laid the fidgeting babies next to his beloved before sitting beside her. "Hai, these are his kids. The last of the Namikazes," he sighed out," Though I'm afraid even that may end soon if actions aren't taken." Brow furrowing, Hikari hesitantly reached towards her now swathed child, cooing softly down to her to be answered by a quiet giggling…creamy lavender eyes blinking up towards her. Hiashi shifted, leaning over to gaze at the little girl in his wife's arms, the sound of the door opening and closing as the mid-wife left unheeded by either of them.

"Have you decided on a name yet?"

"Hai." Hikari smiled down to the little girl. "Isn't that right little Hinata?" Hinata giggled, tiny hands grasping outwards towards her mothers' own bluish hair before stopping as her curious eyes found something else. Both adults watched in amazement as she cooed, reaching out with eager hands towards one of the bundles…giggling as little hands patted the whisker marked face. Twin sets of eyes met, before looking down to their daughter in surprise, before Hikari laughed.

"Well well, it looks like our little Hinata already likes one of them. Little…Naruto? I'm getting a feeling here husband." She smiled up to him as he ruefully shook his head, stoically looking at her with his most serious expression. "You can't be thinking of what I think you're thinking of?! Don't you think they're a bit young for that yet? Or the fact you may be reading a bit too much into it?"

Little Hinata didn't understand the conversation her parents were having, nor did her little child mind care. She was too pre-occupied giggling as she attempted to crawl (and failing) between the two sleeping babies next to her, cooing as she poked and patted both sets of whiskered cheeks…squealing as the tiny ears of one flicked at her.

"Well, even so…this one has to leave the village anyway." Hiashi sighed. He was getting too old for this, at least mentally so he figured. Hikari frowned as she gazed up at her husband, looking down at the one called Arashi. "Who would dare force such a little child from the village? Heartless bastards." She huffed, anger swelling in her lavender eyes before reaching down and picking up little Arashi and undoing the cloth that surrounded him. A shocked gasp passed her lips, a giggle coming from little Hinata as she gazed upwards.

"Husband, how can this be? Is he…?"

"No, it's merely sealed inside of him. He's not the beast itself." A sigh broke the words, something he seemed to be doing A LOT lately. "But that's one of the reasons why he will be forced to leave the village. At least little Naruto will be easier to hide."

Arashi's eyes slowly opened, the little mouth opening wide in a yawn as he blinked owlishly at the woman holding him. Hikari giggled, gaping as the little golden fox ears on top of his head twitched…her eyes moving downwards. A short golden tail, surprisingly bushy, swished beneath him right above Hinata…which probably accounted for the giggles. Lazy blue eyes continued blinking at the weird lady (at least in his mind), before they closed to resume their nap. Such was not what fate had in mind however, as twin sets of tiny hands reached up to the hanging tail and **yanked.**

Both piercing blue eyes shot open wide, a loud cry erupting from his lips. "**WWWWAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!****"** Arashi squirmed and thrashed, little giggles erupting from below him as Hinata and Naruto, who had woken up from his little nap, released the soft golden appendage.

"Well, he's most definitely going to be popular with the ladies wherever he goes. Same with little Naruto. But how? And why must he leave the village?" Hikari frowned at her husband, the customary sticking out of her bottom lip ever so slightly marking the beginning of a stubbornness he knew ALL too well. Hiashi brushed his hand against his forehead, remembering the fevered words of the council and shinobi in the Hokages office the previous night before turning to his wife with saddened eyes.

_"Yes, you are correct. These are seals, used by the late Yondaime to seal the Kyuubi no Kitsune within his own two children. From this moment on, no word shall leave this office of the events which had transpired. I'm branding this an S-Class secret, punishable by death." Sarutobi sighed, eyes closing before loud yells erupted through the crowd._

_"Kill them then! KILL THE DEMONS!"_

_"Look at that one!"_

_"Hai, don't let them live Hokage-sama! The Kyuubi should be destroyed while we have the chance!"_

_Hiashi looked on in shock. Shinobi and council alike calling for the deaths of two helpless infants? He turned, pale eyes wide as he gazed upon one child. It was odd. Almost like there were…ears…on top of the head. Gasps were heard in the crowd, the crying child picked up by Sandaime and shushed, slowly rocking back and forth…the tip of a tail waving in view._

_"IT'S THE DEMON! KILL IT NOW!"_

"But that's ridiculous! Surely they can't think this boy is any more a demon then…then…our own daughter!" Anger burned in those lavender pupils, always so gentle and caring, now fierce and protective.

"Hai Hika-chan, but you know more than anything how stubborn the council is. And that's not even counting the shinobi who know who the boys are. I don't think he would have lived through the night if I hadn't brought him here myself. If you only knew the looks…" He trailed off, pale white eyes closing in resignation. "But either way, Arashi at least will leave the village until he is old enough to defend himself. An ANBU by the name of Kakashi has offered to care for Naruto." Hikari fumed, her angry gaze shifting to the boy she held, who blinked…whimpering as he tried feebly to squirm away. She immediately softened, cooing gently as she took all three children into her arms. "There there, I wasn't angry at you. Shhhh…" Smiling, Hiashi slowly got to his feet after whispering a soft good-night to his beloved, before turning and walking out the door and down the hall. A branch house member walked hurriedly up to him as he passed towards the bath, holding out a folded envelope. "Hiashi-sama, Hokage-sama wishes for your presence immediately.

Sighing, he nodded towards the bowing man as he took the envelope, gazing down at it. Maybe this would put an end to all the speculation…

_End Flashback_

He frowned as he absently fingered the envelope in his kimono, gazing at the solemn tombstone of the Yondaime before him. '_No Minato, I don't expect this is what you would have wished for your children after all.' _Turning, he watched the rest of the crowd leave in scattered groups, looking upwards into the soft grey clouds. '_But then again I think you figured that out already isn't that right old friend? Are you crying?'_ Shaking his head from his thoughts, he led his own family away after whispering something to his wife. Frowning, but nodding all the same, Hikari returned to the manor with the children while he walked silently towards the Hokage Tower.

* * *

Nodding towards the two Jounin guarding the door, he passed through…smack dab into a heated discussion that he had hoped would have passed already. He glanced to the side, noting the dog-masked ANBU leaning silently in a corner, before he turned towards the crowd in front of him. 

"The demons a menace! You HAVE to kill it immediately!"

"Kami knows what it will do when it gets older. Do you have any idea what might happen if it gets loose?!"

"Just kill it and be done with it!"

Sarutobi gazed silently out at the yelling crowd in front of his desk, pipe clamped between clenched teeth, a faint wisp of smoke curling from the bowl. '_Now I know how my old apprentice felt. Something like this would drive ANYONE to drink.' _

_"_ENOUGH! I have already made my decision and that is final! And I will remind everyone here that discussing this with anyone outside this room, let alone the children, will NOT be tolerated. Any who fail will be brought up on S-Class felony charges and executed!" A flash of killing intent leapt from the Hokage, silencing the council into a pale-faced wall. "If that is all, I must deal with other matters. Now leave, or I'll ask the ANBU to escort you to Ibiki himself." Hiashi couldn't help but chuckle slightly as the council members and shinobi practically crawled over each other in their attempts to get out of the room, though whether it was the threat from the Hokage himself or the threat of Ibiki that moved them was unknown. Turning towards the desk as the Jounin closed the doors, Hiashi nodded slightly at the ANBU that remained, then towards Sarutobi.

"Hokage-sama, Kakashi-san," He said before turning towards the Hokage. "You wished to discuss something with me?"

Sarutobi sighed and waved his hand towards a seat, muttering around the pipe. Turning, he picked up two scrolls…laying them out on the desk and slowly unfurling them.

"I've been looking through some old scrolls on the sealing technique that Minato used. And I believe I found out what he did, but more importantly, WHY he did it…as well as why one of them has ears and a tail."

Think smoke trailed from between his lips as he gazed down at the seal scrolls, sadness heavy in his eyes. Kakashi and Hiashi both leaned forward, listening intently as he continued.

"It seems at first glance that when he sealed the Kyuubi no Kitsune into his sons, that he made a mistake." He pointed at the first scroll, shaking his head. "So far, from what I've been able to find out about the "Bijuu" as they are called, is that they are demons of extraordinary power. The Nine Tails, Kyuubi, was the most powerful of the nine…sometimes called the "Queen of Demons."

Kakashi cleared his throat, dog his mask having been clipped to his side after the crowd left. "Queen of Demons? The Kyuubi no Kitsune was female?" The one visible eye he had blinked, before it closed into a "U" shape. '_Mmmm, I wonder if she's anything like Taka.'_ Kakashi giggled quietly behind his mask, both Hokage and Hiashi sweat-dropping at his behavior.

"Yes…erhm…going on. These Bijuu are demons yes, but demons composed entirely of chakra…at least in our world. From what I understand, they can only be summoned into our world from their own, though the cost of the summoning is extraordinarily high. Hundreds of sacrifices must be made, along with over 20 Jounin-level summoners performing the seal. It is not something that should be taken lightly."

Sarutobi let out a long sigh, smoke blowing out in a thin grey wave…before he tamped out his pipe. Refilling it, he blew on it, a muttered katon jutsu relighting it.

"I have yet to figure out who summoned the Kyuubi, or why. However, I did figure out what seals Minato used to seal the demon, and how he did it between two beings instead of one."

Reaching over, he tapped the scroll in front of Hiashi, gazing ruefully at them both.

"He used an ancient sealing technique, the **Shiki Fujin**Dead Demon Seal). Summoning the Shinigami, he managed to pull the Kyuubis spirit from its body, at which point he had me stumped. However, that's when I came upon this."

Reaching into his robes, he pulled out a yellowed scroll…the red trimming on it faded with age. Setting it down gingerly, he looked up to Hiashi and Kakashi. "This is the only remaining scroll for the Hakke no Fuin Shiki: Shishio Fuin (Eight Trigrams Sealing Style: Four Symbols Seal)." Leaning back, he puffed on his pipe.

"The purpose of that seal was to separate the Bijuu into the two primary components of its Chakra, Yin and Yang. This seal then put the Yin in one child and the Yang in the other…sealing the chakra of the Kyuubi equally into each child."

Kakashi shifted uneasily, glancing towards Hiashi before looking towards his Hokage. "If that's true, then why was Arashi the only one to get ears and a tail? They both got whisker marks, but he was the only one out of the two to get the others."

Sarutobi nodded, leaning back in his chair. '_I really need to get a new chair in here. I don't know how Minato could stand it'_

"That is correct, however I found out something else in the sealing scroll. When sealed, the chakra of whatever is sealed is to slowly meld with that of its carrier. At first this didn't make sense, until I read further into the scroll. It said that the mind of the Bijuu itself was also sealed. However, as you cannot split a mind into two equal parts, the mind of Kyuubi itself was transferred into one of the children…in this case Arashi. This heightened the effect of the Kyuubis' chakra on the boy, giving him features of a Kitsune himself."

He reached over, slowly closing the scrolls before setting them back in his robe, leaning forward on the desk….hands tented in front of his face.

"I have no idea if the Kyuubi itself has influenced the boys' chakra, or if it's a side-effect of the different potency of Arashi's and Naruto's chakra, but I do know this. From what I read, a Bijuu has an orb…the Hoshi no Tama (Star Ball). Each tailed demon puts a portion of its power and soul into the orb, and hides it away in a safe place. From what little I could find, it said whoever had the Hoshi no Tama could control the demon itself. This may be the reason why the Kyuubi attacked Konoha."

Sarutobi closed his eyes, a billow of smoke whisping past his lips. "She was summoned, that much we know. Who summoned her, and whether or not she agreed to attack Konoha of her own free will is something else entirely. Bijuu are not inherently evil, nor are they inherently good. The will of the summoner is nothing more than a suggestion to them. That might be much different if the summoner had the Hoshi no Tama of the summoned Bijuu." He glanced towards Kakashi, nodding once towards him. "You said you would take Naruto, which is why I wanted you to hear all this. Do you still wish to take in the boy, having heard what you said here?"

"Hai Hokage-sama. The boy didn't have a choice, and even if he did…he would not be the demon. He is merely its jailor, not the demon itself."

Sarutobi nodded, closing his eyes with a soft sigh. "ANBU scouts have located a summoning circle on the border of Fire Country to the east, towards Iwagakure. Until we find out what actually went on, this conversation never leaves this room, understood?"

Twin nods of assent followed, before Sarutobi turned towards Kakashi. "You're dismissed. You can pick up Naruto from the Hyuuga estate when Hiashi send you notice." Bowing, the ANBU replaced his mask, poofing out of sight with a flash of smoke. Hiashi coughed, gazing at the old man in front of him.

"And what of Arashi? You said you had a place that would take him in and train him."

Sarutobi merely smiled, staring at Hiashi silently. "You have grown attached to the boys I see." Hiashi stiffened, a stoic expression crossing his face as he returned the stare at the Hokage. "Oh come now Hiashi, there is no need to hide behind that façade here. And even if you haven't, Hikari-san would have grown attached herself." Chuckling, he reached into his desk, pulling out a scroll and setting it in front of Hiashi.

"That scroll contains all the directions you'll need to get to the place I told you about. I would advise you go yourself. I would not trust anyone outside of us, and Kakashi will be too busy with Naruto to do it. The sooner the better, if what the villagers have been planning is any clue as to the general mood towards the boys."

Taking the scroll, Hiashi slowly broke the seal…gazing through the contents before blanching, looking up at the Hokage with wide eyes. "This is….you can't really mean to send him there?!"

"Hai, but don't worry. The _other_ one will be there as well to balance it out. She won't let him turn out as you think. But it's not that that makes me worry, if it all. It's the last part of the seal I showed you."

Brow furrowing, Hiashi closed the scroll, secreting it into a sleeve. "The Hakke no Fuin Shiki: Shishio Fuin? What other effect could there be on the boy?"

Shrugging, Sarutobi leaned back into the chair, pulling the pipe from his mouth. "From what I saw of the seal on the boy, there is an additional component to it…one that is not present on Naruto. There's a summoning seal meshed in with the container seal itself. What it summons, I do not know. But _he_ promised to take a look at it and let me know. He always was better at seals then me anyway." The last sentence was said in a grumble, a cough coming after to cover it up.

"Hai Hokage-sama, I'll leave immediately." Standing, he bowed before turning and walking out of the office, brow furrowing in thought. '_Summoning seal? Surely Minato wouldn't put something that could summon the Kyuubi on the boy. And if not that then what?'_

He shook his head and walked towards the Hyuuga estate, one of his bodyguards dashing towards the manor to pry the boy from his wife, who had grown quite attached to them over the last day. He snorted. '_"Quite popular with the ladies" indeed. I'm surprised she hasn't tried to adopt them both outright.' _ He stopped outside the house, once more reading through the scroll…

* * *

"Oi, what took you so long? We were beginning to think you weren't going to come." Two shadows walked out from the trees next to the path marked on the scroll Hiashi held. Frowning, he looked towards them, his hidden bodyguards staying in the trees. 

One shadow was most definitely a woman. Twin ponytails curved outwards from the back of her head, seeming to frame a figure that most women would kill for…and that most men would as well.

The other was…odd. A veritable mane of hair was the primary feature that was seen, though the color of it was unknown. A large scroll was attached to the figures back. The rest of the man was hidden in shadow.

Both radiated an aura of power, something that Hiashi did not miss…filing under something to ask the Hokage later. "The road was longer than we thought. " The male shadow chuckled, before peering curiously at the baby Hiashi held in his arms.

"So that's him eh? Scrawny little thing. You sure that's his kid?" The man's words were interrupted by a loud ITAIthe female having smacked him on top of the head with a huff.

"Of COURSE it's his boy. You trained him and you can't even tell? Hmph."

Hiashi sweat-dropped at the two, wary of leaving the boy with them. '_THESE are the so called "guardians" for the boy? Hokage-sama was right. Maybe I SHOULD have let Hikari adopt the boys.'_ He frowned, gazing at the two. "I am sure this is not where the boy is to be left. You can't raise him in a tree." The woman stepped out of the shadow of the tree she was leaning on, smiling as she reached out for the sleeping child. Uneasily, Hiashi gently set the boy in her arms, the sunlight seeming to bounce off the platinum blonde of her hair.

"No, we have place further up the mountain where he will live and train. It was one of his father's old houses. He used it to train in before he got married." The second shadow nodded, before turning up the path and disappearing, leaving Hiashi and the unknown woman to follow him.

In short order they arrived at the admittedly large house, the Hyuuga head gazing up at it with a raised brow. He opened his mouth to say something to the woman passing him, but he was cut off by a brilliant flash of blue, the seal on the boys' stomach glowing in the noonday sun. Both men slipped into a _taijutsu_ stance, looking around for a hidden threat, before two hazy forms slowly appeared in view beneath a tree.

"You there! Identify yourself!" The man that had been with the woman yelled out, white hair flashing in the sunlight. The two unknown figures shifted, slowly walking out into the sunlight.

"S….S….Sensei?!" The white-haired man paled, the words spoken barely above a strained whisper….

* * *

_(Look! Tis a time-skip! WHEE!)_

_Three years later…_

Three years slowly passed, relative peace one more settling on the village of Konoha. A silver-haired man slowly walked down the street, smiling behind the blue mask that hid the lower part of his face as he gazed down at the unending bundle of energy that circled around him as he walked.

"RAMEN! RAMEN RAMEN RAMEN!" The joyous chant seemed to echo in the air as the pair walked down the street. Both of them seemed oblivious to the glares of hate and disgust leveled towards them, or more particularly the small boy in question. The man frowned behind his mask, his single visible eye hardening as he glared at some of the more bold shopkeepers. It was the same thing, day in and day out. He sighed, the yellow haired bundle of energy running around him oblivious to it all.

'_If they only knew what this boy did for them on a daily basis.__ But do they? Nooooo. Hell, there were three assassination attempts just the past month on the boys' life.'_

Sighing, he crouched down next to the boy in question, his one visible eye turning up into the familiar "U" of a smile.

"Now now Naruto-kun, you have to behave yourself."

The boy in question pouted, his bottom lip sticking out slightly as he turned his face to the side. The man chuckled, before adopting a mock serious expression beneath the mask.

"Mah mah. Well, if you don't behave, I won't take you to see Hinata-chan…." He grinned secretly behind his mask. There was only one thing that could override the blonde's behavior, let alone his love for ramen.

Naruto snapped back around and stared up at his "father", gasping. "Y-You wouldn't dare otou-san!" He cried out in childish rage, one arm extended…the small forefinger pointing up towards his dad. Kakashi grinned, crossing his arms in front of him. "If you behave, we'll go see her right after we eat. But ONLY if you behave, neh?"

Naruto cheered, running around the legs of his father as they headed over towards Ichiraku's…the blonde's favorite haunt. "Hinata-chan Hinata-chan Hinata-chan!" the blonde chanted over and over again, causing Kakashi to chuckle.

'_Ah young love. Oops. Well, you can't exactly call it that yet I suppose'_

He giggled perversely behind his mask, reaching behind to reach for the oh-so-familiar orange book before stopping, blanching as he looked up into the face of a leering Teichu.

"You weren't going to read what I think you were going to read in front of young Naru-kun, WERE you Kakashi?" Kakashi, his one eye wide, waved his hands in front of him defensively. "Neh, I would –never- do that Teichu-san, you know that." One hand slid up behind his head, absently scratching his head…one eye shaped up into the U of a smile. Teichu snorted, smiling down to his young customer.

'_Oy that was a close one.'_

Hanging his head, Kakashi walked into the ramen booth and smiled the young boy started eating the ramen place in front of him. Waving a hand as Teichu glanced towards him for his order, he settled down, lightly poking the blonde's shoulder in a teasing manner.

"Mah mah Naru-kun, you better slow down or there won't be any ramen left!"

He blanched, instantly realizing his mistake and Naruto stopped in mid-scoop, turning to look up at his dad…who instantly sweat-dropped at his face. Both blue eyes wide and puppyish, bottom lip wavering ever so slightly…a slight sniffle added in for effect and….

"N-No more r-ramen?"

Kakashi opened his mouth to rectify his mistake, before he stiffened, the sound of cracking knuckles echoing in the still silence. Giggling nervously, he turned towards the owner of the booth, gulping as both Teichu and his daughter Ayami stood there…pans in hand.

"Eh heh, ummmmm…just kidding?"

The booth rocked, onlookers stopping before laughing at the sight of Hatake Kakashi the famous Copy Cat Nin being chased out of a ramen stand with a little girl and old man chasing him with two pans. It was the talk of the day, something that always seemed to be centered on the pairs' antics.

* * *

Kakashi rubbed the multitude of bruises on his head, muttering to himself before peering up above as a shadow passed over his face. Narutos concerned gaze peered down at him from his vantage point on the copy nins shoulders. 

"Neh neh otou-san, are you ok?"

"Hai Naru-kun, I'm fine. Just a little bit under the weather."

Naruto snickered a bit, before they caught sight of the Hyuuga estate gates coming into view. Smiling beneath his mask, Kakashi waved to the guard with his customary one hand salute…the "Yo!" causing the guard to chuckle as the duo passed him. Naruto giggled, before waving frantically to Hiashi as the man came into view, who smiled slightly and nodded in the direction of the garden. Giving the Hyuuga head a salute, the two wandered over towards the garden…spying the little form of one Hyuuga Hinata sitting humming to herself, unknowing to the danger that lurked in the bushes.

"HINATA-CHAN!" She eeped, turning around to peer at the young blonde boy as he came running over to her. A slight pink tinge covered her cheeks, her soft whisper just barely heard. "N-Naruto-kun….EEP!" Kakashi laughed, watching the two as Naruto glomped on Hinata…hugging her tightly.

"Neh neh Hinata-chan! How are you today?"

Both were oblivious to the danger in the bushes as Hinata blushed, stuttering out a soft answer as Naruto sat down beside her, grinning his golden smile. Both were ignorant of the soft rustling as something passed through the leaves, making its slow steady way towards the couple. Kakashi had disappeared, most likely to read his book, leaving the two in the Hyuugas care, unknowing to the evil that lurked in its very bushes!

"N-Naruto-kun, did you hear that?" Hinata glanced around fearfully at the sound of a twig snapping. Frowning, Naruto peered over towards the bushes in front of them, before shrugging and grinning at Hinata. "Neh Hinata-chan, I don't think it was-," He was cut off as the bushes rustled again, this time all around them. Hinata clutched to Naruto's arm, gazing around fearfully, unknowing to the creeping figure behind them…..

"AAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

* * *

Whew. I tried to make this chapter a bit longer than the previous. Prologues always tend to be shot anyway. 

As always, R&R! I'll be happy to clear up any questions you might have, or any opinion you might have in the story! The interaction between Naruto and Hinata will most likely be fluffier then most are used to, but meh that's my own decision…NYAH!

Itai – Ow!

Iie – No

Otou-san – Father/Dad


	3. Broken Faith

Allllllrrriiggghhhtttyyyy then. It's time for yet another fun filled chapter of fanficly goodness. Yes I know it's not a word, bite me :P.

Anyway, let me take care of some concerns right off the bat here. Some people have sent me emails (Use reviews! It's what they're there for, and lord knows I need/love them) about something they managed to catch in the second chapter.

First off, neither Arashi nor Naruto will be "Mary-Sue" characters (aka God characters). They will most certainly be more powerful than in the manga/anime, very powerful. However, they won't be punching holes in mountains or blowing up entire forests or vaporizing towns. That was Kyuubis job. And considering what I have planned for near the Genin/Chuunin exams, all will be explained as to how and why thing became as they were. This comes after some people figured out who exactly the four people were that are going to train Arashi. Everything will be explained when and if I see something I consider "overpowered".

Also I managed to pick up on a mistake I made in Chapter 2. While I usually do not tolerate mistakes (at least in my own fanfic) it is minor, and since no one has picked up on it quite yet I'll let it go unless people start bombarding me.

Comments or suggestions? Use the review button please. While I'm not going to abandon this story if I don't get reviews (as I know some authors are fond of doing) it still lets me know what you all think and what you consider good or bad.

Also, I have the final look of Arashi finally down as well as what FemKyuubi will look like when she finally makes an appearance. Please look on my profile for pictures regarding Arashi/his sword/Kyuubi. I'll give you a special treat if you manage to find the one thing tying together the sword picture and FemKyuubi :D

As always, I don't own Naruto since Kishimoto-san doesn't know how to share --;

Kishimoto: I HEARD THAT!

Cerv/FLEE!

"Speech"

'_Thought_'

"**Kyuubi speech" **

"_**Kyuubi Thought"**_

* * *

_Previously, on X-Me….erh wait a second. DAMNIT THIS IS THE WRONG SCRIPT! _

_walks off muttering_

_"HINATA-CHAN!" She eeped, turning around to peer at the young blonde boy as he came running over to her. A slight pink tinge covered her cheeks, her soft whisper just barely heard. "N-Naruto-kun….EEP!" Kakashi laughed, watching the two as Naruto glomped on Hinata…hugging her tightly._

_"Neh neh Hinata-chan! How are you today?"_

_Both were oblivious to the danger in the bushes as Hinata blushed, stuttering out a soft answer as Naruto sat down beside her, grinning his golden smile. Both were ignorant of the soft rustling as something passed through the leaves, making its slow steady way towards the couple. Kakashi had disappeared, most likely to read his book, leaving the two in the Hyuugas care, unknowing to the evil that lurked in its very bushes!_

_"N-Naruto-kun, did you hear that?" Hinata glanced around fearfully at the sound of a twig snapping. Frowning, Naruto peered over towards the bushes in front of them, before shrugging and grinning at Hinata. "Neh Hinata-chan, I don't think it was-," He was cut off as the bushes rustled again, this time all around them. Hinata clutched to Naruto's arm, gazing around fearfully, unknowing to the creeping figure behind them….._

_"AAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"_

_Hyuuga Estate_

"NOOO! NARUTO-KUN!" A normally soft voice rang out, before it was drowned out by the most horrible, evil sound imaginable….

…..laughter.

"O-Okaa-saaaaannnn! giggle Nooo…stop it! laugh I'll get you for this! giggle," Naruto couldn't help it, he could barely breathe as is, and trying to form words while being mercilessly attacked wasn't exactly easy for a four year old. He thrashed and wiggled around, the sound of his loud laughter echoing in the halls of the Hyuuga mansion as soft giggling to his left intermingled with it. Hyuuga members walking through the halls couldn't help but smile as they paused in their daily duties to listen, before walking on. To them it seemed their home had not had the laughter of children for far too long.

The once thought evil, horrible figure poised above him…delivering the evil tickles of DOOOOOOOM… stopped before peering down at the panting blonde figure below it.

"Oh come now Naru-chan, it's been soooooo long since you came to visit! Me and Hina-chan thought you left us." The sound of soft sniffling echoed after the words, the unknown assailant cutting a pitiful figure as big tears rolled down its cheeks.

Naruto snorted, eyeing the person before crouching down and attacking! Fingers and hands flew everywhere! A soft laughter now echoed in the halls, easily figured to be a woman's, as Naruto delivered his deadly final strike. Hinata just sat over to the side, giggling quietly behind one small hand as she watched the two go at their tickle war, before her semi-blushing face grew pale. Both stopped, before slowly turning to turn evil grins towards the poor Hyuuga girl. Hinata gulped, frantically looking back and forth before hurriedly backing away from the twin sets of cheshire grins that were focused on them.

"O-Okaa-san? Naruto-kun?" She whispered, wishing she could run and hide behind the bushes. Both figures stopped for a moment, twin voices innocently answering in a sing-song voice. "Yes Hina-chan, what is it?" Hinata gulped, before giving them a wane smile…her loud shriek echoing in the halls as both Naruto and her mother Hikari glomped her, twin sets of hands frantically tickling her sides. Her bubbling laughter teased the air almost like a song as she wriggled underneath the merciless assaults, though it soon turned to one as Naruto blinked and just sat there almost entranced as he listened. Finally Hikari stopped, peering down at her little daughter before whispering in her ear. Pale lavender eyes grew wide, a furious blush caressing pale cheeks before she nodded to her mother.

Naruto watched in confusion, scratching the side of his head before he blinked…suddenly waving his hands defensively in front of himself.

"Oh no, no no no no! Anything but that! Nooooooo!" He turned and attempted to half sprint/half-crawl away before two women (well, one woman and one girl) used the ultimate taijutsu move, the TACKLE-GLOMP! This evil move, favorite of fan-girls everywhere, rendered their targets helpless as they tackled and pinned them…enabling the fan girl to do evil things to her prey at leisure. Naruto paled, wiggling under two sets of hands as both faces leaned down. "NNNNOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

_Elsewhere…_

The four figures watched the panting little boy in front of them as he went through endless movements and katas. Their soft whispers did little to interrupt the boy, going through the various aspects they had planned for him as well as what regimen he should go through.

Panting, the boy stopped, hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

"Alright Arashi, that's enough for now. Come over here and get lunch, then we can continue with your training."

Arashi jumped, both little fists punching the air in a cheer as he raced over towards the four, causing both women to chuckle. The blonde one shook her head, while the red-headed one smiled softly…setting out the afternoons repast. The two men stood off to the side, eyeing the boy before getting an evil glint in their eyes.

"Oy gaki, we think it's time to up your weights again. You seemed to be moving FAR too easily out there today." The White-haired man spoke up, glancing towards his partner. The blonde man nodded, coughing behind his hand to hide his own grin. "Hai, he speaks the truth Ara-chan. It's time to pick up the pace."

Arashi pouted at the two, his bottom lip wiggling a bit, twin piercing blue eyes widening as they slowly started to tear up. Both women 'awwwwwed', before laughing as both men bopped the pouting boy in the head.

"That doesn't work! "

"Itai!"

Arashi rubbed the top of his little blonde head, still sniffling a little bit before turning back to his lunch.

* * *

_Hyuuga Estate_

Both women giggled down at little Naruto as he laid there, spirals for eyes, comical lipstick marks all over his whisker-marked cheeks from the evil attack they had laid upon him. Hinata blushed a bit, Hikari laughing as she gazed down at the almost comatose boy as he blabbered nonsensically, just barely making out the words "kiss" and "evil".

Hikari turned and grinned at her daughter, giggling behind one hand as she noticed the faint blush on her daughter's cheeks. "Ooohhh? Does my little Hina-chan love Naru-chan?" she whispered teasingly, reaching over to lightly poke her daughters' belly. Hinatas' blush intensified, almost resembling a tomato before she paled, lavender eyes rolling back as she fainted with a loud "plop" into the soft grass.

She couldn't handle it anymore, it was just so CUTE! Hikari laughed, harder then had in some time. Oh these two were just too much! She had barely calmed down to a snicker before she heard someone walk up to her. Schooling herself into a neutral expression, she turned to look up at her husband as he looked down towards her, then over towards the two children. Hiashi rolled his eyes at the antics of his wife, deciding not to comment on the little snickers threatening to erupt from between her lips.

"If you are done teasing the poor kids, it's time for Hinata's training. I'm sure Naruto would like to stay as well, maybe even join her."

"Are you sure dear? snicker I don't think they will be able to look at each other for awhile without being a distraction."

Hiashi paled a bit, turning to look with a fake horrified look on his face towards his wife. "You…you didn't! You wouldn't!" Hikari snickered before getting a mischievous yet 'innocent' look on her face as she blinked up at her husband. "Didn't what husband dear?" Hiashi just hung his head, slowly shaking his head, before a brief snicker teased past his lips…soon joining his wife in laughter as Naruto slowly came to at about the same time as Hinata, both youngsters blushing slightly as they looked towards each other…through for decidedly different reasons.

All was well in their lives, unknowing to what would soon happen…

* * *

_In some random area in Konoha…_

"This has gone on long enough. The demon is growing in strength every year! We can't let it get any older! Who knows when it will strike next."

"Yes, but even so it's hard to kill the boy. The Hokage watches him like a hawk, not to mention the ANBU that is his guardian."

"What about the Hyuugas? They have taken a liking to the boy it seems, so we can't expect any help from them. What if they interfere?"

One voice broke through the rest, silencing them.

"So we can't kill the boy, at least not yet. However, we can make his life what ours was after his attack. A living hell. The next time the boy is alone, his guardian will be out on a mission. The Hyuugas will be unable to help either, not with the Clan Heads wife almost to term. We have to be quiet about it, and avoid detection, but soon everything will come together."

In the dim light of the room five heads nodded agreement. They would get the demon yet. Oh yes. It would not be allowed to regain strength to attack the village again, they would make sure of it.

* * *

_6 months later…_

Naruto waved towards the three figures standing near the front gate of the Hyuuga estate. Hikari and Hiashi smiled, while little Hinata waved. Today was the first day they had started partner-training the boy and girl, and even at the very beginning there was promise. Of course, Hinata and Naruto didn't know about this. They just thought it was fun to train together. Hiashi and his wife however had different plans, grinning towards each other as they entered their bedroom after putting little Hinata to sleep.

"So what do you think dear? You think it will work? You know those old fools on the council probably won't let it happen though."

Hiashi shook his head as he sat down on the bed, watching his wife comb out her hair. Their youngest, little Hanabi, had just been born a few months earlier. Hinata was happy to finally be a big sister, and Naruto…well he was ecstatic. Hanabi seemed to have taken a liking to him right off the bat, cooing as she tried to reach up towards his blonde hair. Shaking himself out of his reverie, seeing his wife looking at him, he sighed.

"Not all of the council hates Naruto. In fact quite a few of the elders like the boy. Some just can't let go of it, but I don't think there will be any trouble. It's the reason why we started partner training them after all."

Hikari snickered, pale eyes gaining a faraway look as she finished brushing out her hair and joined her husband on the bed.

"What do you think they'll both say? When we announce when they're older that they've been arranged to get married?"

Both adults looked at each other, before laughing. It would funny that's for sure. It was the sole reason they brought back the ancient concept of partner training. In ancient times, it was used by the Hyuuga to get members of the Hyuuga family to get used to each other, before pouncing an arranged marriage on top of them. By the end of the training, the two were usually so used to each other that they agree to it without hesitation.

"I don't think we'll have a problem. Hinata already likes him, while Naruto…well, he's Naruto. I think he likes her as well, he just doesn't know it yet."

"So much like his father." Hiashi chuckled, before clicking off the light, plunging the room into a soft darkness.

* * *

Naruto on the other hand, was not exactly having a good night. So far he had caught the villagers giving him evil glares. While this wasn't unusual, he never paid attention since he was always with his Otou-san most of the time. He just couldn't shake it though. They seemed to be giving him more this evening than any other day. He walked faster through the street towards his house, hoping beyond hope Otou-san got home from his mission early.

"Oy! Demon brat! Who said you could walk on my street?"

Naruto flinched slightly before glancing at the three figures walking towards him. All three were shopkeepers that had refused him service outright, until Kakashi stepped in and frightened them half to death. But his otou-san wasn't here, he was out on a mission, and he had an eerie feeling that these three knew it all too well. Trying to ignore the ominous glint of light striking off something on their belts, he gave a nervous laugh as he started to back away from the three.

"G-Gomen nasai, I-I didn't think. Please excuse me." He turned, about to run like the demons of hell were on his heels, before he stopped, looking at the two men who had stepped out behind him.

"We didn't give you permission to leave demon boy. You haven't got your punishment yet."

"Yeah, this will teach you for walking in front of OUR stores on OUR street."

Naruto, panicking now, glanced back and forth, looking for a way of escape before he was forced roughly back towards a wall…the back of his head smacking against the stone harshly. Rubbing the back of his head, he looked up at the five encroaching figures with fear filled eyes…shivering at the instruments they held in their hands.

"This will teach you boy. And don't think anyone will come help you either."

"Yeah, we don't know how you did it, but we're tired of you worming your way into people's hearts. From now on your life is going to be the hell it should be."

Hands waving in front of him in his defense, his words were cut off as a thick object brutally smashed into his left temple, his loud cry of pain unnoticed in the streets.

Nor would anyone hear the pleading, the loud screams of pain that echoed in the street long after…

* * *

Kakashi was worried. No, he was BEYOND worried. He had come back after his mission tired as hell, but he was happy. Naruto was usually always up, ready to greet him with a loud "OTOU-SAN!" followed by tackling his leg in a hug. In his mind, it was the best greeting he could ever get after a mission, and he had been looking forward to it all day.

But that feeling was gone now, as soon as he entered his house to find it dark…with no sign of Naruto. This one thing was what caused him to literally tear through the house, calling Naruto's name. Bursting through the door, he sprinted outside and into the street before crouching down and going through the symbols. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Five poofs of smoke surrounded him, five dogs all sitting on their haunches as they looked at him, with one little dog directly in front of him. "Yo!"

"Pakkun, I need you and the others to look for Naruto. I can't seem to find him in the house."

The dogs nodded, before disappearing in a poof of smoke. He himself took to hopping from house to house towards the Hyuuga estate. Sometimes Naruto would stay at the Hyuugas, he thought. There's nothing to be worried about. That thought was dashed however as he ran towards the gate leading into the estate only to meet the confused look on the guards face.

"Is Naruto here?"

It was hard to keep the worry out of his voice, and not for the first time he blessed the fact he wore a mask. Otherwise…

"No Kakashi-sama. Naruto left awhile ago to go home."

His one eye widened, before he cursed, frantically looking around. The guard paled, the spike of chakra exuding from the man in front of him almost causing him to just run off into the house and lock the gate. Apparently others in the house had felt the same thing, with Hiashi and Hikari followed by five other Hyuugas in battle gear following close behind him.

"Kakashi! What is going on?" Hikaris voice was soft, yet it betrayed the hidden fear in her mind. If Kakashi was here, and Naruto wasn't, that could only mean….

"It's Naruto. I can't find him anywhere, so I came here thinking he was spending the night with you."

Hiashi's ashen face, and Hikari's own pale one answered his question. His worst fears seemed to come to life now as he turned, one hand lifting up to push his hitai-ate from his hidden eye. Hikari turned towards her husband, a fear-stricken look on her face as he nodded. Turning towards the five guards between, he started to bark out orders.

"You two, investigate the northern area near the complex. You three, I want you to follow the main street and see if you can fin-…"

His words were broken off by a mournful howl, answered by two more that seemed to waver in the air before fading slowly away. Kakashi, pale as a ghost now, shuddered before sprinting away towards the howls as they once more filled the air…the seven Hyuuga close on his heels.

Hikari and Hiashi both tried to keep up with the copy-ninja as he ran full speed through the street. Their words never seemed to reach his frantic ears before they suddenly saw him stop. Breathing a sigh of relief, thinking they finally got through to him, they stopped as the smell finally reached them…getting through even to their noses….

Blood.

Hikari ran forward in front of Kakashi, before stopping as if struck, her hand coming up to her mouth before broken sobs came unbidden from her chest. Turning, she fell to her hands and knees, retching onto the street as Kakashi fell to his knees…hands covering his face as he silently joined her. Hiashi slowly walked forward, pale eyes closed, before slowly opening…stepping back at the horror that greeted him.

Naruto. There didn't seem to be a single inch of him that wasn't covered in blood. He was spread eagle against the wall, kunai rammed through his hands and feet to keep him in place. His blonde hair, which seemed so lively earlier in the day, was matted to his head…soaked in red as his head hung limply. Trickling streams of red ran down his cheeks as well as from his mouth, dripping down to join the large puddle beneath his hanging body.

But what was worse of all, beyond even that was his body. Even without his Byakagun activated, he could see the sharp edges of bones poking through the skin through his clothes, orange clothes soaked a darker ominous color. Two blades stuck through his stomach where Hiashi knew his seal to be, a third thrust through his right shoulder.

"….kami help us…"

Hiashi squeezed his eyes shut, turning his head away as the sounds of multiple feet echoed in the silent street, the Hokage himself worriedly dashing down the street with ANBU hot on his heels. The next word, spoken by Kakashi, would forever be burned into the minds of all those present…the grief and raw anger in them seeming to claw at the man.

"NAAARRRUUUTTTOOOOOOOO!!!"

* * *

_Elsewhere…_

Arashi whimpered, having long ago woken up. He crouched on the floor of his room, before falling to his hands and knees, a loud cry escaped his lips.

He ignored the door to his room as it slammed open, the hurried dash of feet as multiple people ran over to kneel down by his shivering form. The words they spoke, worried, he never heard. The only thing he could sense, the only thing that was prevalent on his small mind was one word…

_"….Brother?"_

_Konoha Hospital…_

Kakashi sat limp in the chair outside the seal room, both eyes closed in the soft light of the corridor. Hiashi and Hikari stood next to him, the small huddled form of Hinata as she clutched her Okaa-san's leg the only seeming alive one out of the four. Three of the four had their eyes closed, remembering the scene they witnessed.

_"What is the meaning of this?" Sandaime landed next to a sobbing Kakashi, before looking towards the two Hyuugas. Hiashi shook his head, before glancing over in one direction. Sarutobi followed his gaze, before stumbling as he looked on the hideous scene before him. He took a tentative step towards the boy, before stopping. Eyes narrowed, teeth clenched as he turned towards the ANBU standing in shocked silence behind him, his killing intent and chakra flaring like a bonfire._

_"You two, pull the boy down. You three try and heal him enough to keep him stable while I get some medic-nins."_

_Sarutobi turned and blurred away, his Hokage robes flapping around him viciously__ as he moved at top speed towards the hospital. If he ever found out who did this to the boy…._

_Shinobi and villagers alike shuddered in his wake as he passed over them. They gazed, in awe and fear, their Hokage dashing towards the hospital with a flame of chakra wavering almost visible about his body. Their __fear __didn't pass as he moved on, such was his killing intent…_

They had been careful, that much was absolute. None of them had wanted to cause the boy any more injury than what he had. They had seen the anger in the Sandaimes eyes, and they knew what would happen. One mistake, one mishap…and heads would roll. Literally.

And that all led to here. The Konoha Hospital. One doctor had taken one look at the boy and made a disgusted noise, telling them to take the demon and toss it in a dumpster somewhere so they would all be rid of it. The sound of chirping birds and the spraying of blood rippling across the wall behind the man had silenced THAT argument rather quickly, Kakashi pulling the his hand from the chest of the 'doctor' just as the last remnants of his Raikiri faded away. The rest of the staff had then made damn sure they weren't going to get in the way, not after the display they had seen.

Kakashi shifted in his seat, his Sharingan eye still exposed as he stared down at the ground. Neither of the Hyuugas worriedly glancing down at him knew what was going through his mind, but they had an idea of what it could be. It was going through theirs as well.

Find out who did this, and then kill them in the slowest and most excruciating way possible.

As for little Hinata, she has thankfully not been there when they found him, nor when they took him to the emergency seal room. But she DID see the blood on her Okaa-sans hands, as well as on the uniform of Kakashi. And, being the smart girl she was, it didn't take long for her to notice Naruto anywhere and put two and two together.

Truth be told, she was as angry as a 4 year old could be.

All of these musings were broken as the doors to the room opened, a weary looking doctor slowly stepping out before moving over towards the four gathered there. He hesitated, glancing down at Hinata, before up at her parents. They nodded, and he sighed…going on.

"He has suffered extensive damage to at least half of his body. I'm afraid if you hadn't found him 30 minutes or so after you did…."

He let the words hang, before he continued on.

"It's remarkable really. The healing was nowhere near as hard as we first thought. The combination of internal and cranial damage, along with at least fifteen broken bones should have been fatal for ANY child. But even as we worked on him half of his breaks had been healed already."

Both Hyuuga and Kakashi shared a glance, though no words were spoken. They knew why he had survived, as well as why he had already started healing.

Kyuubi….

"As it stands, he is in stable condition, with no threat to his life. We have healed all his injuries, barely in time, but he is out of the woods. He just needs plenty of rest now."

The doctor smiled, bowing to the four before walking down the hall to fill out his report, a strained look on his face. He hadn't told them, nor would he. The boy had not been merely on deaths doorstep. The boy had DIED, even as they were healing him. Nor would he say anything about the weird red chakra that seemed to envelope the boy and almost miraculously bring the boy back to life. He would speak to the Hokage about it, and not breathe a word to anyone else.

I mean, who else would believe him?

* * *

Kakashi stood as the stretcher came out of the seal room, nodding towards the Hyuugas. They returned the gesture, before picking up Hinata and making their way towards the door to go home.

"No! NO! I WANT TO SEE NARU-KUN!" Hinata struggled in her father's grip, having lapsed for a brief moment into using her chosen nickname for the blonde boy. Hikari gave a wane smile, before shushing her, gently and soothingly running her fingers through her daughters' dark blue hair.

"Shhhh, he's ok little love. He just needs his rest. We'll come see him tomorrow ok?"

Hinata sniffled, tears coursing down her cheeks before she gave a weak nod, turning pale lavender eyes back down the hall towards where the energetic blonde had been wheeled to his room.

"….Naruto-kun."

* * *

Kakashi watched them walk down the hall and out of sight, before he turned to follow the stretcher, sitting down beside the bed to gaze down at its small occupant. His sharingan had been covered up again, his head bowed as he watched the slow breathing of the kid he thought of as his own flesh and blood son.

"Never again Naruto. I will never let it happen again."

His gloved hand gently rubbed the blonde locks, a single tear sliding down from his exposed eye….

* * *

Well there you go folks. It had to happen sometime or other, the attacking of Naruto that is. I had the end of this chapter just pop in my mind, and I thought he would make a good heartfelt ending to this specific part. I hope I did well!

For the record, Naruto calls Hikari "Okaa-san" because she is sort of an adopted mother for him. He knows the difference between her not being his actual mother and an adoptive one, it's just a nickname he found for her.

And what of poor Arashi eh? winkwink That MIGHT be explained, but later on in the story. Should be fun to keep you guessing hehehe.

So please read and review! This chapter more than any other so far is the one I want to know how you feel on. Remember, I can't make any helpful changes or answer questions if you don't talk to mmeeeeee.

Itai – "Ow"

Okaa-san – "Mother/Mother figure"

Otou-san – "Father/Father figure"

Gomen nasai – "I'm sorry/I apologize"


	4. So it Begins

My muse is on caffeine and sugar pills for some reason these days, so you guys get another daily update! SQUEEBIES!

I had a bit of a problem with this chapter though. I was stuck on either going through a bit more of Narutos childhood, or doing a small time-skip to when he's 8 years old and starts in the Academy (He's almost 5 years old in the fic right now). All in all I decided to wrap up the bit I did decide to do, then skip ahead a bit. I got some favorable reviews from the scene at the end of chapter 3, and I'm glad you guys liked it hehe.

You guys also gave some interesting theories on the reaction of Arashi as well. Only one got the relation of the two pics in my profile (either that or he was the only one that cared to put it in a review).

There is also going to be the beginning of the ACTUAL fic in this chapter (the action/Kyuubi finally appear), though that mostly hints at a certain one of our favorite blondes. Things will get a bit better now that I have the slow stuff out of the way (or at least I'm hoping so).

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, at least not until I kidnap Kishimoto-san!

"Speech"

'_Thought_'

"**Kyuubi speech" **

"_**Kyuubi Thought"**_

_Flashback_

* * *

_Last time, on DRAGONB..._

_……I hate you Muse_

_Kakashi stood as the stretcher came out of the seal room, nodding towards the Hyuugas. They returned the gesture, before picking up Hinata and making their way towards the door to go home. _

_"No! NO! I WANT TO SEE NARU-KUN!" Hinata struggled in her father's grip, having lapsed for a brief moment into using her chosen nickname for the blonde boy. Hikari gave a wane smile, before shushing her, gently and soothingly running her fingers through her daughters' dark blue hair._

_"Shhhh, he's ok little love. He just needs his rest. We'll come see him tomorrow ok?" _

_Hinata sniffled, tears coursing down her cheeks before she gave a weak nod, turning pale lavender eyes back down the hall towards where the energetic blonde had been wheeled to his room._

_"….Naruto-kun."_

_Kakashi watched them walk down the hall and out of sight, before he turned to follow the stretcher, sitting down beside the bed to gaze down at its small occupant. His sharingan had been covered up again, his head bowed as he watched the slow breathing of the kid he thought of as his own flesh and blood son._

_"Never again Naruto. I will never let it happen again."_

_His gloved hand gently rubbed the blonde locks, a single tear sliding down from his exposed eye…._

* * *

_Konoha Hospital…_

The scene that greeted the Third as he walked into the room containing Naruto was a mixture of something out of a picture book, and something….else. He couldn't quite place the name on it. The only word he could think of to describe it was 'sadness'.

Kakashi hadn't moved apparently, his head bowed slightly almost as if in thought…listening to the slow rise and fall of Narutos breathing, the quiet beeping of the machines in the room recording his vitals. Sarutobi glanced at one of the machines, then down to Naruto, eyes softening in sadness. Yes, it was an emotion he and others had been feeling all too much these last twenty four hours. He chuckled quietly, remembering the actions of some of the elder and elite Jounin they had when they heard about the assault on Naruto.

_"WHAT?!?!" Sarutobi winced, quietly stepping off to the side to avoid the chair as it slammed into the wall next to him…all four feet embedded into the concrete.__ The owner of the voice stood there almost growling, her brown eyes smoldering in anger. Behind her another scarred Jounin frowned, the only sign of any sort of emotion on his face._

_"KUSO! Just wait until I get my hands on them! I'LL BREAK EVERY BONE IN THEIR BODY!" The scarred Jounin, known as Ibiki, shrugged to Sarutobi as Anko stalked out of the room. "I can't exactly speak for her actions Hokage-sama, but I feel the same way as she does. Irregardless of what this village believes, that boy is not and never will be a demon of any sort." Nodding slightly in respect to the old man, he made his way towards the door, most likely to stop Anko from doing something incredibly stupid._

_Like butchering half of Konoha._

_Stopping in the doorway, he gazed silently out of the window…before Sarutobi looked up at his words. "I hope you will bring them to me when you find them, Hokage-sama." With that, he departed the room to disappear down the hall. But Sarutobi would never forget the anger in those words, just barely held __back. When they found the assailants (and he had no doubt they would, he would make sure of that) they were going to wish they were in Makai by the time Ibiki and Anko were done with them._

The Third smiled quietly to himself, turning his head to look out the window at the rising sun. '_Naruto, if only you knew how many people cared for you. Enough to even kill for you if it came down to it.' _Walking over towards the motionless Kakashi, he gently set one hand on his shoulder…surprised when he heard the young man's voice though his head remained bowed.

"I found them….Hokage-sama."

Eyes widening, Sarutobi gazed down at the young ANBU, before a lone howl echoed in the streets as if paying homage to the rising sun. The few villagers that were out and about shivered. A wolf howling during the day was considered an ill omen, one of death or destruction. If they only knew how right they were, yet how wrong as well. Kakashi stood up, head still bowed as he gazed down at the one child he considered his son, even though no blood relations existed. The soft words of the Third caused him to stiffen, before slowly relaxing under the elderly mans' hand.

"It's not your fault Kakashi. You know that, I know that. No one can keep a watch on the boy at all hours of the day."

Kakashi sighed, before straightening to look the Third in the eye, the old man taken aback at the grief and sadness in the depths of the one eye. It looked like he had been crying silently all throughout the night. All Kakashi could think about was the death of his friend Obito and how he failed him. And now, he had almost done it again after he SWORE to never let another comrade die again if he could take the blow in their place. The fact it was his adopted son, and the REAL son of his sensei, only made this attack that much harder to bear.

"I'll be fine Hokage-sama. Pakkun!"

A small poof of smoke appeared on the bed, the little dogs paw raised in salute. "Yo!"

"You found how who the culprits were?"

"Hai. There's five of them, retired ninjas it looks like, that have shops along the main road. I could smell his blood on them as I walked past them. They're remarkably open after what they pulled last night."

The little dog glanced over towards the Third, remembering the massive killing intent and chakra pressure the old man and put out last night. It was amazing the four men and one woman hadn't high-tailed it out of town as fast as they could. It only showed the stupidity of the attackers.

"And one more thing. One of them is a woman. Weirdest pink hair I've ever seen."

Kakashi nodded, turning to move towards the door before Sarutobi stopped him with a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head at the icy anger he could feel coming from the ANBU. "Not alone Kakashi. They need to be questioned first, not killed outright without question." The silver-haired Jounin sighed, before nodding quietly, glancing over towards the motionless body of his young 'son'.

'_Don't worry Naruto. I'll make sure they pay for what they did to you…'_

_Some hours later…_

Kakashi walked down the main road, one hand in his pockets as he held his trademark orange book in front of him, eyes locked onto its pages. To anyone else, it would appear as if he was merely walking down the street reading his book. But to the more observant, they could see his eyes staring straight forward onto the pages as well as the barely suppressed killing intent that threatened to explode off the man.

Three figures stealthily jumped from roof to roof, following the Jounin. Anko and Ibiki, having been summoned to the hospital room the very moment Pakkun had relayed his message, had instantly jumped at the opportunity. They, along with the Third, were now quietly following Kakashi as he strolled down the street past the shops in question. His one exposed eye turned upwards towards the roofs above before giving a slight nod, turning to walk into the middle shop of the four. Laughter echoed out into the streets, along with mixed voices muffled by a curtain leading to the back.

"…you see what we did to that little runt? I bet he'll think twice about walking down OUR street."

Four voices joined with the man in laughter, one the lighter voice of a woman, before they quickly quieted as Kakashi walked towards the counter. He closed his book, pushing it back into his pocket while raising one hand in salute, his exposed eye turning into a 'U' shape. Little did the five know that the hand that held the book now gripped a kunai that resided in the same pocket.

"Yo!"

The five glanced at each other, before the owner of the shop stepped forward with a smile on his face. All five knew who he was, and they all knew who he protected.

"Ah Kakashi-san! Welcome to my store! What can I get you?"

The young ANBU hmmm'ed, one hand on his chin as he looked around. So focused were they on the Jounin in front of them that they didn't heal the triple 'tap' of feet above them on the roof, nor the shadows that descended down from the side. Shaking himself from his reverie, he smiled through his mask at the five in front of him.

"I was wandering lost on the road of life, when I decided to stop by and ask why you thought attacking my son was a good idea."

The five were taken aback, the still smiling face (or at least so they thought from his upturned eye) the last thing they had thought to see when he said something like THAT.

"W-Whatever are you talking about Kakashi-san? We didn't know you had a son."

Five heads nodded curiously, the shock of pink hair in the middle of them a sharp contrast. Mentally Kakashi was furious. A Haruno? They should know better than to do something like this, especially after what happened to her husband and how he died.

"Ooooh? You mean you don't know of little Naruto?"

All five paled. The demon brat? SON of Kakashi? Nervous glances shifted between them, before the woman laughed slightly. "Oy come now Kakashi that was some joke. We all know you're not that…that DEMONS father." The word 'demon' was spat out with a particular hatred, which he did not miss. They all fidgeted as the one eye that had been so happy before, suddenly narrowed in an anger that frightened them to their core. The last thing they were prepared for was the killing intent that was suddenly let lose in the small shop, making all five struggle to breathe. They couldn't help but back away an involuntary step as Kakashi slowly leaned on the counter, tilting his head as he gazed up at them with one eye.

"That boy is no more a demon than anyone else here. That BOY is a hero of this village, while insects like you abuse him."

His anger was a palpable thing, radiating off him like physical force. He didn't expect the Haruno woman, whom he knew only as 'Sori', to step forward with a laugh smirking down at him. "Is that right you demon lover? We did this town a SERVICE killing that little Kyuubi brat." The four men behind let a nervous chuckle as they nodded, once more getting arrogant looks on their faces.

"That's right! And there's nothing you can do about it either. Hell the Hokage will probably give us a reward for killing that bastard child!"

A bell rang an end to his tirade, signaling that someone was entering the store. Snorting, they brushed aside the Hatake, smiling almost eerily as the Hokage himself walked up to the counter. "What is all this about? I heard raised voices out in the street and come in here to see this." Sarutobi looked to Kakashi, who nodded ever so imperceptibly, before he turned to look at the five with a benign expression on his face…though inside he was seething in anger. So these were the five. And the Haruno too! Anko was going to have a field day with that one.

"Hokage-sama, this so called shinobi came into our store threatening us! We did the village a huge favor, yet he comes in here and threatens to kill us!"

The Hokage turned to fix a mock disapproving gaze on Kakashi, who merely smiled at him through his mask. He sighed, before turning towards the shopkeeper. "And what with Hatake-san threaten you for? It must be something serious if he thinks it's worth my anger."

Sori was practically giddy at what the old man said. She might even be able to get her little daughter something special if this all went through! "Hmph, we killed the demon brat last night. Then this DEMON LOVER had the gall to come into our shop and threaten us! We demand that he be taken away for interrupting our business! I'm sure you have some reward for us as well Hokage-sama?" The pink-haired woman practically beamed at the old man, who was feeling nauseous just standing by her.

"Hai, I have a reward for you."

He snapped his fingers. Anko and Ibiki, who had stayed in the shadow until this time, walked out and bowed slightly towards their Hokage. "Hai Hokage-sama?" Sarutobi smiled at the shocked looks on their faces, before he turned towards his two chief interrogators.

"Ibiki-san, Anko-san, I would like you to extend your "hospitality" to these five upstanding citizens for the attempted murder of one Uzumaki Naruto as well as treason towards the village of Konoha."

One Haruno Sori was livid, before blanching. Treason? Surely there was nothing they did that was treason! She was about to step forward and plead with the Hokage before a loud crack echoed in the small shop, the back of Ankos hand meeting the cheek of said Haruno. Stunned, she fell to the floor in heap, clutching her bruised cheek and gazing wide-eyed up at the leering woman in front of her.

"Silence wench. You get no say so in this matter, not after what we saw you did to the poor boy. Me and you are going to have a nice long chat."

The glint in her brown eyes showed however that they would be doing anything BUT a chat, not that the woman was able to pick up on it. Sori huffed, turning her head to the side. "None of you can do anything to us! We didn't do a damn thing wrong." She grinned.

It was only then that she noticed that the four she had been with had disappeared, along with Ibiki and the Hokage. She looked fearfully up into the eyes of Anko, then into the eye of one Hatake Kakashi. Spinning, she tried to flee before a loud POOF was heard and she was smashed back down into the floor as the most enormous dog she had ever seen appeared on her back. She frantically tried to crawl out underneath the dog, even more so when she found a grip on her ankle that yanked her out from underneath it. She was dragged bodily out into the street, both Kakashi and Anko having one ankle in their hands. The spectacle would be remembered for quite a few weeks, as a pink haired woman was dragged screaming for help down the street before disappearing into the door of the Hokage tower.

The screams of pain and torture that echoed that night did little to help people forget about it either….

* * *

_Two weeks later, October 10__th__…._

Naruto was finally dismissed from the hospital, having fully healed from his injuries at the hands of the villagers earlier that month only to be almost readmitted as a certain blue haired girl tackled him with a squeal as soon as he stepped outside. Chuckles were had all around as Hiashi and Hikari, Kakashi and Sarutobi watched the reunion of childhood friends…though they soon parted, bright red blushes adorning their cheeks. Both children were hauled up onto their respective parents' shoulders before they walked off towards the Hyuuga estate to hold a very special birthday party for one Uzumaki Naruto.

* * *

_Elsewhere…_

Arashi groaned as he rolled over onto his side, before blinking. One hand slid behind him, comically feeling the empty air beneath him, before a pitiful whimper escaped his lips. The resulting THUMP echoed into the small house, awakening any residents that weren't already awake as he fell to the floor.

'_I hate my birthdays…'_

He mumbled quietly to himself, straining to pull himself to his feet from underneath the push of his weights. The slave drivers (aka his teachers) had decided to never let him take the seals off, not that he knew how anyway. It was just one thing in a looonngggg list of annoying things that he would get back at them for.

'_They will pay! THEY WILL ALLL PAAAAAYYYY!'_

He cackled evilly, one hand fisted in the air shaking childishly before he sighed and hung his head at the laughter of four people gathered in the doorway.

"Come on now son, it couldn't be that bad!"

"Your father's right. Just think on how much you're going to improve!"

Arashi muttered as he turned to walk over towards the four, eyeing them carefully. All four looked the very definition of innocent, but he wasn't fooled. They had something planned and he was going to find out one way or another. The wonderful thoughts of what pranks he could pull on them to get his information were suddenly cut off as the mood grew more somber, all four gazing down at him. He blinked, unsure of what to make of this new mood.

"What is it Otou-san? Okaa-san?" He looked towards his self-proclaimed Ojii-san and Baa-chan as well, seeing the same solemn moods on their faces.

"Arashi, today we will begin the apex of your training. On your eleventh birthday, something will happen that may change everything." Arashi looked confused, before growing wide-eyed. "I see you understand. We only have 5 more years to continue your training before we disappear. We only managed to buy 10 years of time before we had to leave again." Arashi merely stood there stunned, tears rolling down his cheeks as he stared at them.

"On your eleventh birthday, you will fus—"

* * *

_Look out behind you! dodges time-skip_

_Six years later…_

_Hyuuga Estate, Age 11_

Naruto was happier than he had been in a long time. Not only had he and Hinata finished the partner training in record time, but they were going to be starting their third year at the ninja academy! He couldn't wait for next week. Smiling, he skipped towards the gate, waving to "Guard-san" as he called him before moving inside. The Hyuuga merely shook his head with a small smile at the child's antics.

"HINATA-CHAN! WHERE AAARRREEEEE YYYOOUUU!"

He stood in the gardens, small hands fisted on his hips as he looked around with a small pout. She was always around here somewhere, at least in the mornings. She loved this garden. His pout disappeared with a smile as small pale hands wrapped around his waist from behind, the soft scent of lilacs surrounding him as Hinata hugged him from behind…nuzzling her cheek into his back.

"Morning Naru-kun."

Things had changed for the two young children. Hiashi and Hikari couldn't have been more right when they chose them for partner training. Not only had it gotten rid of Hinatas shyness (at least around Naruto and to a lesser extent everyone else) but they had grown together to such a degree that it was almost impossible to not see them together at any moment of the day. Unknowingly to them, they had reached a level of intimacy not found by most couples (at least girlfriend/boyfriend couples), and to Naruto he considered it to be the best friendship in the world (Hinata was a different story). Their teamwork was off the charts, so completely did they mesh together. Most genin teams were put to shame, both in technique as well as teamwork...something that caused their parents no amount of amusement. But for now, they were merely happy to have each other's company.

"Ne ne Hina-chan, what do you want to do today?"

Hinata, having turned around her boyfriend (at least in her mind, he was still dense in most respects) and gently pressed into him in a gentle hug, scrunched up her nose in thought. It was a morning ritual of sorts, one they never deviated from. They would just sit in the garden holding each other as the sun rose in the sky, a comfortable silence between them. It was only recently that she had started sitting in his lap.

"Ano, why not train a bit? We could always use—"Her soft-spoken words were cut off as the earth beneath her rumbled, swaying slightly. Both of them turned wide-eyed to each other, as Hiashi and Hikari ran out of the house.

"Naru-chan, Hina-chan, come here. It's time to go back inside."

Neither of their voices allowed anything to be said otherwise, and they nodded running back into the house with Hikari. Hiashi however stayed outside, the column of red light shooting up faintly in the distance something he had been both expecting yet dreading since that fateful day 11 years ago.

"So it finally begins…"

* * *

"KUSO! The seal won't hold out for much longer like this! We need to do something!" 

"This is the only thing we CAN do you pervert. T-hey…they already left remember?"

Only three figures remained now in that house, or rather behind it. An enormous glowing seal covered up the entire backyard, two figures watching off to the side. Both of their attention was given to the smaller figure in the center of the massively intricate seal, engulfed in a giant tower of red chakra that seemed to shoot up into the sky without end. A low rumble echoed in the air, the earth beneath them seeming torn between shuddering and giving way at the massive outpouring of chakra and power that assaulted it.

"Minato said the only thing we can do is watch. If this doesn't work…."

The sentence was left unsaid as the column of eerie red light slowly thinned out, before disappearing. Red chakra seemed to ripple about the boy, who could now be seen as Arashi, in the center…joined by another figure slightly raised in the air in front of him. They stared, unable to contain their shock. This wasn't supposed to happen!

The slender, lithe figure seemed to hover in front of Arashi. Smooth pale skin almost seemed to glow underneath the red light of chakra, only to be outshone by the fiery mane of red hair that cascaded down the slender back to her hips. She was perfectly proportioned, a figure that made the female of the two figures watching envious, something that shocked the male counterpart…the little book in his hands falling to the floor. The levitating girl, as it could now be seen as female, drifted down in front of the boy. Her head was tilted back, lips parted ever so slightly before a gasp escaped them, closed eyes slowly opening. With nary a sound, she gently alit in front of him, eyes of purest violet gazing at the boy in front of her.

To say that silence reigned in the small clearing was an understatement of the year.

Neither said anything, before Arashi slowly opened his eyes. Violet met…..

Both figures ran out from underneath the trees towards the two. The girl ignored them, focused entirely on the boy in front of her. Collective gasps escaped their lips.

Arashi was….different, his once golden hair now a dark red that waved slowly in the wind left over by the shockwave of chakra. But what shocked them the most was his eyes. Eyes, that were once the color of the deepest sky, were now a solid gold…bright in the disipitating light. A ring of silver circled around the edge of his golden pupils, the edge facing the whiteness of his outer eye while the inside was wavy like the swells of the ocean. Four tendrils of silver color leapt from the inside ring of the silver ring, forming into flame-like tendrils of silver color the curved towards the iris which was also silver. It was breathtaking, even more so when the four flame-like tendrils disappeared.

No one spoke, nor moved as gold met violet, eyes locked and never moving from each other. Both of those that had merely watched suddenly fell over at what happened next, twitching comically.

The pale skinned beauty, for they had no other way to think of her, slowly stepped forward towards Arashi…her bottom lip bitten in an adorable gesture. Slender arms circled around his neck, head tilted to let a soft breath leave those pillow soft lips as one word left them before their lips slowly met in a tender kiss….bodies gently pressing into each other.

"….Ara-kun…."

* * *

Bwehehehe! -insert evil cackle here-. I got tired of pussy-footing around in the childhood period and decided to start out on the third year of the Academy. However, if people tell me they want to see Narutos training with Hinata, or the full extent of Arashi's training I MIGHT do a few flashbacks. As for who the girl is, why she is acting that way to Arashi after just "appearing", and HOW she got to acting that way will be left for later if enough people are curious. 

It's more fun that way to keep you all guessing.

Anyway, with stuff finally out of the slow period of the fic, things should pick up fairly quickly…and my chapters should be a bit longer now as well (I am not happy with their length. It's too short in my opinion.)

Anyway, please review and let me know what you think! Reviews let me know how I'm doing in the story, and what few review I got so far (makes me cry ;;) have been positive. If you want to know what Arashi and Kyuubi look like, just go to my profile. I have both their pictures up. They look EXACTLY like them (though when I describe them int he next chapter they will have different clothes).

Ja ne!

I also plan to go into more detail on Arashi's eyes. Yes it's a Kek…-coughcough- never mind. But I didn't like my description, so we'll see. I might try and get a picture up in my profile later on.

Kuso – General term for swearing. Could be anything from damn to the more graphic swear words.

Makai - Hell


	5. Brother to Brother

Yet another chapter in the lovely world of…well…Naruto I suppose. I had to do some thinking for this one, because this is an integral transition in the story (in more ways than one) and many hints will be dropped in this chapter on things to come. But first a clarification in terms of powers for the future, at least in this story.

In this specific story, this is the power "classification" of x-amount of tails for a certain pair of brothers and any other Kitsune that may appear in the story.

One tail – Genin, two tails – Chuunin, three tails – Jounin, four tails – Elite Jounin or ANBU, five tails – Kage/Sannin. Six through Nine tails – you begin to understand why Akatsuki wants these things so badly.

Some of you also had some reservations, which will be taken care of at the bottom of the chapter.

Enjoy!

"Speech"

'_Thought_'

"_**Kyuubi Thought"**_

_Flashback_

_ I do not own Naruto, sadly. Otherwise I'd be a millionaire!_

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _

_Previously…._

_No one spoke, nor moved as silver met violet, eyes locked and never moving from each other. Both of those that had merely watched were suddenly frozen in place at what happened next._

_The pale skinned b__eauty, for they had no other name __f__or__ her, slowly stepped forward towards Arashi…bottom lip gently being bitten. Slender arms circled around his neck, head tilted to let a soft breath leave those pillow soft lips as one word left them before their lips slowly met in a tender kiss….bodies gently pressing into each other._

_"….Ara-kun…."_

No one moved an inch. It was almost comical really, you could practically hear crickets in the background. Blinking slowly out of the haze the fusion put him in, Arashi felt something soft and warm brushing against his lips as well as something moist brushing lightly against them. Unconsciously he captured the moist intruder, a soft squeak coming from it.

_'Squeak? What the….'_

Silver pools blinked the fog away, before widening as they immediately met violet ones…violet eyes that were glinting in an all too familiar way. He jerked his head back slightly, eyeing the face he usually only saw inside of his head.

'_Wait, that can't be right. She CAN'T be out here...can she?'_

He slowly looked down, a slow blush slowly starting to creep along his cheeks as he finally saw what the "moist" thing was that he was almost sucking on. Looking past the soft pink tongue that was still sticking past her full lips, his eyes drifted downward until….

"GAAAAHHH!"

Thump.

The girl just stood there, before looking down with an owlish expression on her face… eyes slightly growing wider before returning to normal. A giggle teased past her lips as she peered down at the still form of Arashi beneath her, lightly prodding him with a toe. "I guess I should have put some clothes on before coming out neh Ara-kun?" The voice was a soft alto, almost like a certain indigo-haired kunoichi voice except not as "squeaky". Shrugging she straightened up before peeking behind her with a foxy smile, violet eyes landing on the two statue-like figures behind her.

"Tsunade-san, Jirayia-san, you know it's not polite to stare ne?"

Frowning at not getting any response, she huffed before a poof of smoke covered her. '_Bunch of perverts, all of them'_ The smoke cleared to reveal her finally clothed as she turned to face the two, a scowl on her face as she noticed the slack-jawed expression on a certain perverted old man. A standard mesh shirt covered her torso, a thick strip of black material circling around the upper area to just barely cover her breasts and nothing more…leaving only mesh to cover the expanse of her stomach. Black shorts adorned her hips, stopping just above her knees (think Sakura's shorts post time-skip). Flaming red hair cascaded down her back to her hips, almost seeming to subtly glow in the morning light as she sighed…fluffing it out. This would have to do for now.

The scowl only continued to deepen at the little river of drool that slid down Jirayia's chin, both of his hands in front of him as he wiggled his fingers in a creepy perverted fashion. Tsunade, having finally snapped out of her daze at seeing an entirely naked woman draping herself over the boy she considered a brother, ominously turned towards Jirayia…her eyes hidden in the shadow of her bangs.

"Jirayia…."

Said perverted man turned towards the direction of the voice that whispered his name, before the most unlikely of circumstances happened. Oceans heaved and swelled. Pigs flew. The Hokage actually finished his paperwork for the day.

And Jirayia stood there, groping the chest of one Tsunade.

"ERO-BAKA!"

The voice thundered through the heavens, before a vague man-shaped object sped up into the sky before unceremoniously crashing down into the trees some few hundred yards distant. Huffing, Tsunade turned and glared at the red-headed woman in front of her, left eyebrow twitching slightly.

"You….you have a lot of explaining to do. What the hell happened?! KYUUBI!"

Blinking innocently, Kyuubi batted her eyelashes at the angry Sannin…jumping up and down in a childish display as she clapped her hands once (resulting in unconsciousness yet again for a slowly awakening Arashi who happened to look up).

"Ummmm, I don't know?"

The tip of one finger posed coquettishly on the side of her chin, before she grinned cheekily at the fuming older woman in front of him. "However, I DO know that the fusion isn't over yet. Ara-kun needs his rest now for the rest of the physical changes to finish." Mumbling under her breath, Tsunade walked over to her otouto, leaning down and gently picking up him before turning to head towards the house…Kyuubi skipping after her.

Both ignored the low groaning of an almost mortally injured old man somewhere in the forest.

_A few hours later…_

Tsunade slowly closed the door, moving down the hall away from Arashi's room. If Kyuubi was correct, then whatever physical changes that had yet to manifest were going to do so tonight. Which meant no sleep for her out of pure worry. Sighing, she walked into the living room before flopping down on the opposite end of the couch from Jirayia, glaring at the lounging red-headed woman in front of them.

"Ok, what the hell is going on. Minato said when he made that seal that Arashi would fuse with the half of you that was inside of him. He never said anything about you ESCAPING the seal."

Kyuubi blinked, lazily looking towards the irate woman and then towards the surprisingly serious face of Jirayia before letting out a soft sigh. "There is a reason for that, one that his father did not account for." She shifted in her chair, getting into a more comfortable position before leaning back…one finger lazily teasing a couple strands of her hair.

"To understand why, you need to go back to when he first sealed me inside Ara-kun. When he split my chakra in half between the two children, he forgot to take my mind and soul into the equation. See, while a beings chakra can easily be distributed or sealed that does not mean the same thing can be done for a mind or for a soul. So one of them was bound to get my mind and soul bound to them along with my chakra. It was a fifty-fifty gamble on who would get both, and Ara-kun just happened to be the one who got me in my entirety."

Kyuubi shifted, violet gaze landing on the two Sannin in front of her.

"As for me physically manifesting, you cannot fuse with a mind or soul…at least not in one body. Especially if the soul you're trying to fuse with happens to be stronger than your own. If that had actually happened, Arashi would be dead and I would be stuck in his body. Neither Minato nor anyone else would have wanted that to happen, myself included. So when the fusion occurred, a body was created for my mind and my soul to inhabit instead of overriding and destroying Ara-kuns."

Tsunade frowned, glancing over towards Jirayia. "That explains some things, but that doesn't explain why you called him "Ara-kun" let alone kissed him when you decided to poof into existence." Just her luck, all she needed was the Queen of Demons to seduce her little brother. A soft chuckle broke through her inner ranting, an almost coy look on Kyuubis face.

"I was in contact with Ara-kun the moment he was old enough to mentally understand it. So from age four onwards, he was able to talk and interact with me. In essence, I've known him as long as either of you have so I'm perfectly justified in calling him whatever I want to call him…especially since he's mine anyway."

"Yours? What do you mean he's yours?" Jirayia spoke up finally, "You mean as in your brother?" Tsunade on the other hand just eyed the demoness carefully, before her eyes widened. "NO! You can't mean…."

Kyuubi snickered before wiggling her pinky finger at them both. "When I say he's mine, I mean he's MINE. He's my mate, lover, boyfriend, husband…whatever you want to call it. Though in all actuality the bond we have extends far deeper than any of those titles. He's MINE, and I'm HIS. I can't put it more plainly than that. Over the years I've watched him grow, I've grown attached to him and him to me."

The two were so shocked at this that they missed the flash of a frown on Kyuubis face, before it disappeared. She had decided to leave out the soul mate part. I mean after all, what human would believe such a thing? Fate wasn't on her side however as a scowling Tsunade tapped her finger on the table between them, as if in deep thought. That or something to keep her from hitting someone. One of the two.

"There has to be more than that. I mean he's still a kid for kami sake. I mean yeah he's far more mature for his age then any adult I've ever seen but that's no excuse as to why he'd suddenly become something more than any of the titles you just said. The only thing you could possibly get beyond a marital relationship is…"

"Soul mates, that's what you meant to say wasn't it eh?" Kyuubi sighed, turning her ahead away from the disbelieving look on Jirayias face. "Whether you humans believe in it or not, demons do in their own way. What the few mortals that believe in it think is that a "soul mate" is someone they get feelings for out of the blue. Which is utterly preposterous." Kyuubi snorted, turning her eyes back to Tsunade to fix her with an unblinking gaze. "When demons find a mate, it is their soul mate. Most demons mate for life, which tends to be thousands of years in my own case. For us, our souls actually resonate with the one destined to be with us. For me, the moment I was sealed inside Ara-kun I felt our souls resonate on a level I have never experienced before."

"But a demon becoming the soul mate of a human? What if you hurt him?! I'd sooner cut off my own arm then let you--."

The red-haired demoness snorted, glaring angrily at the irate blonde. "Then let me what? You obviously have no understanding of what I was just talking about hag. I would sooner kill myself then let Ara-kun get a single bruise from me. THAT'S what soul mates mean, you old bitty. Not this glorified nonsense you mortals spout on a daily basis. While a husband might cheat on, or even willingly hurt, his own wife it would be physically and mentally impossible for me to even fathom doing either of those to him. The same thing for him in regards to me. It's just not possible."

Violet met caramel brown in anger for a long moment, before Tsunade huffed softly and turned away muttering to herself. Wanting to get off this decidedly touchy subject, Jirayia coughed and looked towards Kyuubi. "What exact features can we expect on Arashi when tomorrow comes around? I take it his hair changing from blonde to red and his eyes going from blue to silver won't be the only things that happen to the poor kid."

Shaking her head, Kyuubi muttered before closing her eyes. For a brief moment both Tsunade and Jirayia glanced at each other, before a loud pop echoed in the room. Looking back towards Kyuubi, both of their jaws dropped. Three fiery red tails swayed and shifted around her, twin furry red ears adorning the top of her head as she fixed them with a neutral look. "I'd expect him to look something like this, though I'm unsure of how many tails he'll get. All of my chakra, all of my demonic jutsu and everything else was absorbed by him so technically he could have up to nine tails, but I seriously doubt that would happen. He'll have more than me at any rate, considering how you and his parents trained him into the ground twenty four hours a day."

"Well no matter how many he gets, we can't just let him walk into Konoha with fox ears and a random number of tails. That would be worse than wearing all orange on an assassination mission." For the first time, both Tsunade and Jirayia were nervous about the return trip home…more so for their young charge then for themselves. True they both had bad memories in the place, but they had pushed those far away when they agreed to take care of Arashi. The last thing they wanted was for everything to come to naught when they fulfilled the Sandaimes wish of bringing Arashi home in time for the Genin exam.

Kyuubi on the other hand, just smirked mentally. She already had a good idea of how many tails Arashi would get. While it was true he wouldn't get nine, he would have enough to make any attempt on his life utterly meaningless unless it was from a squad of ANBU or more.

"You don't need to worry. We still have a year before the Genin exams, which will be used to wrap up any final training as well as getting used to his new body. It's easy enough for a Kitsune to hide their ears and tails, much the same as I just showed you. Your Hokage doesn't want him back until a month before the Genin exams anyway." Both Sannin nodded, some small measure of relief showing on their face.

"What about his brother? He will probably have to go through the same thing Arashi did, and being in the middle of Konoha makes it all the more dangerous." Tsunade bit her bottom lip after she spoke. Already images were popping up in her mind about the poor kid being beaten or worse.

Kyuubi smiled, shaking her head. "The process was actually meant to be gradual over a period of years. The only reason Minato wanted to have Arashi fuse all at once was because of the same predicament as his brother will have. We can either let him fuse with my chakra normally, or just take him away from the village for a week or two and do the same thing as we did to Arashi."

Both Sannin sighed, before slowly standing up. Their talk seemed to take forever, and it was already late in the evening. "Either way, the rest of this can wait until morning. It's just too much to take in at this point." Watching them trudge up the stairs to their respective rooms, Kyuubi couldn't help but giggle. Making her way upstairs, she slid past the door leading to Arashi's' room before closing it behind her. Gazing quietly down at his sleeping face, she bit her bottom lip softly…brushing a red bang away from an eye. Sighing, she slid down and wiggled under the covers next to him. Tomorrow was going to be an eventful day, and she needed all the rest she could get.

* * *

_Konoha__, Next Day_

"HINATA-CHAN! HURRY UP OR WE'LL BE LATE!"

An impatient Naruto bellowed outside of the Hyuuga gates, before pouting and leaning up against the wall as he waited for his teammate to appear. He had tossed aside the bright orange outfit that was his namesake, having decided on a "new look" for his final year of the Academy. A black undershirt underneath a dark green vest adorned his upper body, with loose black pants adorning his legs. Bandages circled around one thigh on the outside of his pants, his shuriken and kunai holster on the outside of his opposite leg. Forgoing his goggles, he let his blonde hair droop down over his face…both his bandaged hands resting behind his head. A sandaled foot idly kicked at the ground, a rock rolling away before the soft creak of the gate opening caught his attention. Naruto immediately perked up, spinning to look at who came out.

"HINATA-CH….oh."

He laughed nervously, one hand idly scratching the back of his head as he looked up into the pale gaze of one Hyuuga Hiashi…who was standing with arms crossed gazing down at him.

"Gomen Hiashi-sama, I didn't mean to wake you up. I just didn't want Hinata-chan to be late for class and--…"

Hiashi chuckled, shaking his head at the blondes' antics before he slid a scroll out of one sleeve. Turning it over in his hands, much as he was turning over his thoughts in his mind, he gazed down at the almost fearful whiskered boy in front of him, before smiling. "That is understandable. However, try to be quieter about it in the future. That aside, I have a scroll here that Hokage-sama wished for me to deliver to you when you came over next." Hiashi turned and made his way back into the compound after handing the scroll to a shocked Naruto, making his way into his office.

It goes without saying that Naruto was on cloud nine right now. The first day back to the Academy for his final year and he was already getting good news. Well, at least he hoped it was good news. Setting the scroll in his pack, he turned just before Hinata stepped out from the gate…any words of greeting that had any hope of being composed in his throat suddenly dying as his jaw dropped to the ground with a loud thunk.

Hinata giggled, a soft blush coloring her cheeks as she watched his reaction to her new clothes. She had traded her baggy pants out for skin tight shorts that stopped just above her knees, bandages wrapped about one thigh as well as both ankles. She had left her coat at home, a mesh shirt covering her torso and the upper parts of her arms…with a black sleeveless top covering the mesh to keep things decent. She had let her hair grow out a bit longer, the soft indigo strands reach past her shoulders now as pale lavender eyes looked up to meet Narutos.

"Ano…"

"Wow Hinata-chan! You look….sugoi." The last word was spoken out in almost a whisper as he just stared at her, ignorant of the blush that only got darker and darker the longer he stared at her before her soft cough broke him out of his reverie.

"Eh heh, anyway we need to hurry or we'll be late!"

Grinning his infamous foxy grin at her, she giggled at his antics before the turned to walk towards the Academy. A comfortable silence settled between the two as they walked, which was haphazardly broken by a sound that could send even Kami himself fleeing in terror.

Fan girls.

They watched, mouths agape, as one Uchiha Sasuke came dashing past them…a horde of screeching banshees known only as fan girls hot on his trail. They glanced at each other, before laughing…though Hinata was secretly happy. Naruto had almost had the same exact problem before Hinata had put a rather ruthless end to it. She had vowed to never let any of those….those….THINGS….touch her Naru-kun come hell or high water. Especially since he looked so handsome these days. Naruto blinked owlishly as Hinata suddenly blushed, before shrugging it off as a girl thing. They resumed their walk, though in a bit more somber tone. While they laughed at Sasukes girl misfortunes, the incident that had happened three years ago was hardly a laughing matter.

* * *

_Flashback…_

_Three years ago…_

_Hinata and Naruto lay on the grass in the field near the hospital, giggling over one thing or another before the sounds of running and yelling shattered the peaceful calm of that afternoon. Rolling over on their stomachs, they were shocked at the sheer multitude of people running down the street…_

_Towards the Uchiha Compound._

_Glancing at each other, Hinata and Naruto slipped to their feet and dashed down the street after the Jounin and ANBU that dashed along the rooftops, before they pushed through the grim crowd in front of the gate leading into the compound._

_What they saw would forever be ingrained into their memories…_

_From what th__ey were__ able to gather, only three people had survived the massacre that occurred there. Sasuke, his mother Mikoto, and the murderer that had killed the entire clan…Uchiha Itachi._

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _

It was little wonder then that he had hordes of fan girls chasing after him as the "last Uchiha". Naruto was just happy he didn't have to deal with them himself. Hinata was just happy she didn't have to start beating people off her Naru-kun with a large stick.

They continued their way in silence, both lost in their own thoughts as they pushed past the doors leading into the Academy and down towards their classroom. Naruto, still lost in thought, unconsciously opened the door for Hinata who giggled at the spaced out expression on his face. Blinking, he grinned and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment before following her up to their seats. Flopping down, he lightly teased a fingertip along the palm of Hinatas hand…drawing another giggle from the girl before the slamming of the door drew their eyes down to the absurd spectacle below.

"Ha! I'm first! I get to sit next to Sasuke-kun!"

"NO WAY! I was first!"

It was all the class could do to just to not collapse at the two girls struggling and yelling at each other. Catching sight of the brooding Uchiha, both banshees suddenly developed hearts for eyes…a shriek unheard of to human ears splitting the air.

"SASUKE-KUNNNNNNN!"

Naruto rolled his eyes at Ino and Sakura, glancing to the side to see the pale-eyed girl next to him hiding her mouth behind her hand as she laughed softly. She turned just in time to see the mischievous gleam in her Naru-kuns eye before he started whispering to her. Not loud enough so anything could be made out, but just barely so people would know that SOMETHING was being said. Suffice to say, it didn't go unnoticed by two of the villages self-proclaimed "Queens of Gossip".

"Naaarruutttoooooo! What are you whispering about over there! IT BETTER NOT BE ABOUT MY SASUKE-KUN!"

Leaning back, the whiskered boy adopted a completely angelic expression as he gazed down at the pink-haired girl though Hinata didn't miss the flash of anger in his eyes. Her face grew sad, remembering back to when they were four years old. '_So he still remembers that…'_ It was only natural she guessed. After all, how many pink haired women actually existed? It only saddened her more as she saw Sakura hold almost the same hate for Naruto as he did for her…though for an entirely different reason.

_6 years earlier…_

_"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! LET ME OUT OF HERE!"_

_Ibiki pointedly ignored the yells and screams of the pink haired woman in front of him, making a show of cleaning under his nails with a kunai. "You attacked a citizen of the Leaf and –"_

_"That DEMON is not a citizen of this village! I should be given a medal for what I did to that…that…THING."_

_The Haruno matriarch huffed as she upturned her nose, glaring down it at the scarred Jounin in front of her. Ibiki sighed, before shrugging…though he was struggling to mask__ the grin he had on his face as he raised his eyes to look behind her. "Very well, if that is all you have to say." Ibiki yawned nonchalantly before sliding out of the chair and making his way out of the door, glancing at a figure in the shadows to his left._

_"She's all yours….Anko."_

_He could almost HEAR the Harunos eyes widen at that. __Even if he didn't, the screams that echoed out into the hall were enough to confirm it._

Hinata didn't know exactly what had happened, but from the satisfied smirk on her Otou-sans face as he informed her that Naruto would never have to worry about the pink haired woman again spoke volumes. The whispers that said woman couldn't be a ninja anymore due to "injuries sustained while on duty" didn't help either. All she knew was that Sakura blamed Naruto for it, and hated him with a passion. A sentiment the blonde-haired boy was only too happy to return.

"I didn't say anything about the teme, _Sakura_."

Blue eyes narrowed on the pink haired girl before turning away. Sakura merely huffed, and went back to fighting over the seat next to the brooding boy. Hinata and Naruto both merely sighed, glancing at each other as they both thought the same exact thing.

'_This is going to be a long year."_

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _

He hurt. That was just about the only lucid thought that flew through his mind. Not only did he have a headache the size of the mansion, but his ASS hurt for some reason as well. Well, around there anyway.

'_I swear to god if that ero-baka did that perverted __butt poke__ on me I'__m going to KILL__ him!'_

Arashi tried to move, but only succeeded in moving one arm and one leg. Frowning at the weight that seemed to hang on his right side, he slowly opened one eye…then the other. Blinking, he peered down beside him…only to stare into the unblinking gaze of the deepest violet he'd ever seen. He blinked, only to have the violet eyes blink. They went back and forth like that for a little while before a rough cough sounded from the door, making both sets of eyes crane to the side to peer over at one unhappy Tsunade…who seemed totally ignorant of a perverted Jirayia giving him a double thumbs up in the background.

"Way to go Arashi!"

"BAKA!"

BOOM.

Arashi and Kyuubi both winced at the same time, eyeing the man-shaped hole in the wall across from their room. Yawning, Kyuubi shrugged before closing her eyes and once more curling up on HER Ara-kun…who finally seemed to get a faint clue on what or rather WHO was practically laying on top of him. The twitching ears that brushed past his nose (at a frequency he was sure was NOT incidental) as said vixen teased him only caused Tsunade to fume even more.

"If you two lovebirds are done, we have training to do."

Pouting cutely, Kyuubi wrinkled her nose before sticking her tongue out at the blonde woman…sighing as she rolled off the bed and stood up to stretch. Arashi on the other hand was too busy fending off the barrage of tails that were rubbing all over his face from said vixen before he muttered and got to his feet, taking his time stretching and yawning himself totally unaware of the two women (and one groggy man) staring at him.

_'Hot DAMN! He'll have to beat the women off with a __tree!'_

_'A-Arashi?! What the hell happened to you?!?! Grrrr I'm going to beat that fox for this.'_

_'Mmmm, Ara-kun looks like a yummy piece of tai…ls. WHOA! He got more than I thought he would.'_

Slowly lowering his arms to eye the three staring people, he narrowed his eyes. "WHAT?!?! Why are you staring at me like that for?" One hand slid up to rub through his hair as he yawned again, before his eyes grew wide. Hesitantly, ignoring the softly giggling Kyuubi, he felt over the ears on his head…before he was suddenly tugged backwards.

"HEY! What's the big….idea…?"

He stared behind him as a certain vixen lightly tugged on a set of tails. A set of tails that belonged to HIM. Kyuubi merely giggled again at the shocked expression on his face as she glomped him, her three tails curling between and intermingling with the seven tails that flowed behind him. Too shocked to do anything beyond reflexively catch her, he just stood there…shaking his head. Kyuubi reached up and tweaked the corner of one ear, causing him to yelp and jump, glaring at the laughing vixen who merely batted her eyelashes.

"Come on Ara-kun, you have to get training! You only have ten months before you have to go back to Konoha and take your Genin exam. I still have to teach you how to hide your new foxy accessories, as well as how to handle your new body and powers as well. Just because you have all this newfound power doesn't mean you know how to use it."

Pouting, Arashi merely allowed himself to be pulled out of his room by a giggling vixen and a laughing Tsunade who had finally decided to join in on the fun…too tired and too shocked to really do anything. Only one thought lingered on his mine.

'_Troublesome women…"_

_On a hill somewhere in Konoha…_

"ACHOO!"

Shikamaru wiped his nose, eyeing around him before muttering and leaning back to watch the clouds. '_Someone's talking about me.'_

"SHIKA-KUN!"

"GAH! Troublesome women!"

* * *

_Ten months later…Konoha_

Time seemed to fly for Naruto and Hinata, though things seemed to get worse and worse between them and a certain pink haired banshee. But other than that, and a few unexplained chakra spikes from somewhere or another that set the village in a tizzy, time seemed to pass uneventfully for the couple.

Yes, it seems Naruto finally got his head out of the clouds and figured it all out and finally asked Hinata to be his girlfriend (though they had been acting like husband and wife for lord knows how long, which was pointed out to him by a certain Hatake Kakashi). All seemed right in the world. Hell, the villagers had even started to let up on the attempted beatings! Naruto merely grinned his famous smile as he leaned back in his chair, Hinata giggling as she watched him. His thoughts turned back to when he opened the scroll the Hokage gave him, and the ensuing surprises that happened from it.

_Sarutobi eyed his menacing foe warily, before sliding into his seat. __The evil entity only known as 'paperwork' seemed docile today. __Good. Picking up his pipe, he slid it between his lips and lit it with a minor katon jutsu, leaning back in his chair to FINALLY relax._

_"HEY OLD MANNNNNNN!"_

_"GAH!"_

_Arse over tip he fell, papers scattering to the wind. Once more, paperwork was triumphant…ignorant of the defiant shaking fist of the Hokage as he vowed revenge. Sliding to his feet, he eyed the blonde haired boy in front of him, muttering._

_"You're here earlier than expected Naruto."_

_"Neh neh Jiji-san, is it really true?!? Are you going to train me yourself?"_

_Straight to the point at least. Sarutobi chuckled before smiling down at the excitable bundle of energy, nodding. "Hai Naruto, I'm going to be teaching you for the next ten months…"_

Ever since then, he had been the personal apprentice under the Third Hokage though he had been sworn to secrecy. Yawning, he crossed his arms over his desk and laid his head down on them…closing his eyes as he waited for the rest of the class to get here and for the roll call to finally start.

* * *

_Konoha Gate – East Side_

Izumo and Kotetsu yawned at the same time, muttering to themselves as they watched the gate. Guard duty was the most boring thing they could think of on a day like this, so of course it was only natural that the Hokage would stick it on them.

Ignorant as they were, they didn't miss the four figures that seemed to come out of nowhere on the road. Glancing at each other they made their way out from inside the booth. Something about this group made them think trouble.

Arashi walked quietly down the road, the ever present Kyuu-chan hanging on his left arm. He had changed his wardrobe drastically near the end of his training period, having both outgrown and destroyed his previous clothes. Black ANBU pants adorned his legs, bandages closing the bottom around his ankles just above his equally black sandals. A mesh shirt adorned his chest and upper arms and nothing else. A tan sleeveless trench coat was over top of that, the edges having fiery red flames right around the edge (think Yondaimes cloak, only tan instead of white), which stopped just above his ankles with the clan symbol for "Uzumaki" decorating the back. His fiery red hair was cut short and flowed freely in the wind, curling around the black blindfold that covered his eyes…a silver outline of the leaf symbol stitched into the front of it. Golden bandages wrapped up both forearms and along his hands as well.

But what caught the Chuunins attention most was the katana that lay horizontal across the small of his back. The sheathe was a matte black so as not to reflect light, kanji decorating its length in fiery red color as it detailed some long forgotten tale before ending in a fox with nine red tails. The grip itself was also black, with red wrapping spaced in between the black wrapping…a fox head making up the pommel.

The rest of the party (that they could see) consisted of a woman with equally fiery red hair with a mesh shirt and a black wrap going around her breasts, with black skin tight shorts along with black sandals. Violet eyes regarded the two gate guards, before glancing back to the woman and man behind them…which they recognized as two of the Legendary Sannin.

Both of them snapped to attention, a nervous glance shared between them.

"Please follow us, you're expected by Hokage-sama."

Two ANBU immediately leapt down from a roof, motioning briefly towards them before turning to walk through one of the main streets of Konoha. Villagers and shinobi alike stopped to stare at the procession, though whether they were staring at the weird couple or at the Sannin themselves Arashi didn't know and he most certainly didn't care…at least until a villager caught sight of the back of his coat and threw an rock out of habit at the back of his head. The villager, and everyone else who had been watching out of suppressed anticipation, only watched in shock as a pale hand slipped up to capture the rock before crushing it. A golden bandaged hand slid up to the pale one, his head shaking slightly as a frigid pair of violet eyes locked onto the man who threw the stone.

"Mah Kyuu-chan, kill him later."

She snorted slightly, before mumbling as they made their way to and then up the Hokage Tower…soon being led in front of the Hokage himself. All four of them looked at the old man expectantly, who just stared at Arashi. A soft smile teased his lips before he nodded towards one ANBU, the dog mask a dead giveaway as to who it was.

"Please escort Arashi-san to the Academy for his first class. I need to speak with the other three."

Kakashi bowed before glancing towards Arashi, who shrugged and followed him through the door…the worried gaze of Kyuu following after him (Arashis' pet name for Kyuubi). They both wandered down the street, ignoring the glares and mutters of the populace at large before they arrived at the Academy proper…leading him towards the classroom.

* * *

Naruto was bored. No, he was BEYOND bored. Iruka-sensei was taking far too long to call role, almost as if he was waiting for someone. Shrugging, he straightened up as he heard his name being called. 

"Uzumaki Naruto?"

"HAI!"

Iruka smiled slightly, before nervously moving down to the last name. '_It's now or never I suppose. I wonder how he's going to take it.'_

"Uzumaki Arashi?"

The classroom came to a standstill, everyone turning as one to look up at Naruto who was noticeably pale. He looked frantically around, before staring at Iruka-sensei. This had to be a joke right? He was told all his family was dead. If this was a prank to get back at him it was done in very poor taste. He was about to get up and yell when the door leading into the classroom suddenly opened and in stepped on Uzumaki Arashi.

"Hai"

THUMP

* * *

To be honest, I didn't like this chapter. It just didn't seem to come together all that well, like I kept starting and stopping…but it was an essential chapter to get out of the way. 

A couple of people pointed out that they believed Arashi was being overpowered while Naruto was underpowered. Both Arashi and Naruto have the same amount of chakra. The ONLY thing that will differ one from the other is their techniques. There is no need to worry about either one overpowering the other. This will in fact be an integral part of the story later on.

Let me know what you think!

And as always, pictures of both Arashi and Kyuubi are on my profile (though I have them described in different clothes.)

Ja ne!

Sugoi – Great/Cool/Wow


	6. Family Showdown?

YHEY! Time for another exciting episode of….well, something I suppose. Sorry about the lack of updates. Life has taken a turn for the "meh", and the new PS3 has been occupying my time a little bit. BUT FEAR NOT! I shall not forsake the story.

Though I will admit, I messed up so far. I was too focused on some things, and not focused enough on others. Hopefully this chapter will clear that up so I can do things right. Many people have wondered on when a certain "thing" will happen to Naruto. I can only say that it will happen soon. Some things may not be exactly as they appear, kukuku.

* * *

_Previously, in Wonderland…_

_Naruto was bored. No, he was BEYOND bored. Iruka-sensei was taking far too long to call role, almost as if he was waiting for someone. Shrugging, he straightened up as he heard his name being called._

_"Uzumaki Naruto?"_

_"HAI!"_

_Iruka smiled slightly, before nervously moving down to the last name. 'It's now or never I suppose. I wonder how he's going to take it.'_

_"Uzumaki Arashi?"_

_The classroom came to a standstill, everyone turning as one to look up at Naruto who was noticeably pale. He looked frantically around, before staring at Iruka-sensei. This had to be a joke right? He was told all his family was dead. If this was a prank to get back at him it was done in very poor taste. He was about to get up and yell when the door leading into the classroom suddenly opened and in stepped on__e__ Uzumaki Arashi._

_"Hai"_

_THUMP_

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _

"…..Well that went well."

Surprisingly, the voice wasn't their teachers. It had come from the boy that had just walked in as well as Kakashi, who both looked at each other before grinning (Well, ONE grinned while the other eye-smiled) before Kakashi poofed away. The boys' voice was…surprising…to say the least. It was smooth, almost deep…like a liquid calm. It seemed to contrast well with his image as well as his movements, which was made evident as he walked quietly up the stairs in the middle of the classroom towards his "sleeping" brother.

'_HE'S HOT!'_

Kami himself sighed at that. Here he was, watching a random classroom go about its business when the peace that had settled with the entrance of the young man was shattered by the mental screeching of no less than seven different girls, and one boy. That last bit shocked him so much he took to drink the rest of the day, which led to a curiously half-formed mountain somewhere in Iwa country. It would forever be a tourist retreat.

Arashi however was oblivious to it all, not having (thankfully) been gifted with telepathy…lest the myriad thoughts in the classroom overwhelm him and cause him to run screeching from the room proclaiming the world was ending and it was out of tartar sauce. Scary indeed. But that still didn't prevent said thoughts from happening (nor the actual shortage of tartar sauce either) as he made his way upwards.

"Hey Sasuke, get a load of the new kid," whispered a scruffy looking kid in the row above the Uchiha. Sasuke merely hnned in his usual manner, though the coal black eyes had never left the new guy. While he was interesting, it didn't register exactly why Kiba decided to mention something so blatantly OBVIOUS. But then again, Kiba never was the sharpest kunai in the holster as evidenced by his continuous chasing of one Hyuuga Hinata…regardless of the equally blatant signs that she was recently taken.

'_Moron….'_

And that summed up his thoughts just perfectly on Kiba, though if he had heard the whisperings to his right he probably would have extended that thought to just about half the class.

"Hey billboard brow, check out the new hunk. He might even give Sasuke a run for his money." Ino whispered, eyeing the new guy like some prime cut of meat her mother would buy at the market. Sakura however completely ignored him, her focus solely on Sasuke. "No idea why you think he's so special Ino-pig. Sasuke-kun is SOOOOO much better," Sakura flipped her long pink hair behind her shoulder, batting her eyelashes at the back of said Uchiha.

Sasuke for whatever random reason (at least in his mind) suddenly got the urgent feeling to run, as fast as he could, as FAR as he could…revenge for his clan be damned.

"Besides, if you like him so much why not go after him? One less rival for my Sasuke-kuns' attention."

Everyone else missed the glare shared between the two, except for one silent boy in the corner…well, if he had been paying attention to them anyway. His shaded eyes were too busy looking at the newcomer, before turning to a small bug perched on a fingertip.

"……I see."

Chouji had glanced at the boy, before going back to his thoughts of lunch. Shikamaru was too busy dreaming about clouds to even notice, head down on his folded arms. All these thoughts seemed to cause the classroom to swell with a low murmuring as the other hopefuls for graduation muttered their opinions to their friends. A late arrival, especially THIS late in the year, was enough to stir up any classroom. Iruka was silent on the matter, content on watching the interaction of Arashi and Naruto that was now taking place.

Hinata didn't know WHAT to think. To be perfectly honest, she thought the boy was dangerous…though in what way she hadn't figured out yet. He seemed…feral…in the grace of his movements, something she had only seen in one other person. Her beloved boyfriend ('FINALLY!' was the whispered squeal of happiness in her mind) Uzumaki Naruto. Though, that said boy was lying in a heap beside his chair. She didn't have the heart to try and pick him up, especially not with Arashi walking towards them.

Stopping just one step shy of his brother, Arashi crouched down…the raised flaps on the collar of his trench coat finally moving just a hair (as they weren't that tall to begin with) to show something that shocked the rest of the class.

Whisker marks. The exact same ones as Naruto had, though these seemed a little bit darker…most "permanent" one might say.

Reaching out with a finger, Arashi lightly prodded his brother, one corner of his lips quirking slightly at the mutter of "ramen" and something else about "cheese". He wasn't sure he wanted to know either way. Prodding again, a little bit more roughly yet getting the same result, he hummed…peering over at the blue-haired girl that was sitting nearby. Hinata, if he recalled correctly from what little he had gotten from his brother. She blinked at him in return, confused, before pale lavender eyes opened a bit wider at the sight of a wide foxy grin. Leaning down until his mouth was almost touching Naruto's ear, Arashi took a deep breath and…

"WAKE UP YOU BAKA!"

A loud yelp echoed through the classroom as Naruto shot straight up to the ceiling and hung there, like a cat, blue eyes wide as saucers and shaking slightly. Luckily Arashi had moved just in time, or he probably would have got a nasty knock to the head as well. For now, he was blinking up at his brother hanging from the ceiling on hands and feet, snickering along with Hinata (who had found the entire thing utterly hilarious, much to Naruto's later chagrin). The rest of the class was silent in shock, before roaring in laughter.

Just another day in the life of one Uzumaki Naruto.

"Alright class, that's enough! Get back to your seats and let's start class."

The laughter died to a soft snickering as everyone faced forward (and Naruto jumped back down) to once again pay attention to an also snickering Iruka, which got a full force glare from a set of blue eyes, before said glare turned to the blind-folded boy next to him who was grinning cheekily at him. He was about to start grilling him, before a loud clearing of the throat came from up front, signaling that it would probably be best to wait until after class.

"Alright class, as you know the Genin Exam is coming up in a month and you all need to be in top form. So for today, we're going to work on the Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Jutsu) follow by Henge for the first half of the class then do some outside Ninjutsu/Taijutsu training. Naruto, since seemed so energetic earlier, why don't you go first. A few students in the class snickered at that, but were silenced by a double glare from Naruto and surprisingly Hinata. Walking down to stand with the others in front of Iruka-sensei, he formed a familiar cross shaped seal…followed by a poof of smoke next to him much to the others surprise. They hadn't even heard him call out the name of the jutsu.

This was all thanks to his training with Hiashi and the Sandaime, which thankfully no one ever caught on to. Hiashi helped him immensely with his chakra control, almost to the point to where he could do a normal bunshin. Not that he wanted to, since Kage Bunshin was SO much better.

Nodding, Iruka waved his hand to silence the little mutterings of the classroom. "Very good Naruto, now do a Henge." He suddenly paled at the evil grin that fluttered across Naruto's lips as he looked towards his clone, before they both shouted…

"HENGE!"

THUMP

That was the sound of the classrooms female population (minus Hinata, who had closed her eyes beforehand since she expected this) hitting the floor with minor nosebleeds and giddy little grins on the faces.

The cause?

The hugging of Naruto and his clone, who were now Henged as a naked Sasuke and Arashi …clouds thankfully hiding the more important parts as they embraced and looked deeply into each other's eyes. The real Sasuke was white as a sheet, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Arashi only blinked, before snickering slightly. Hinata merely sighed, before walking calmly up to 'Sasuke' to smack him on the back of the head…though it was more a gentle bop then anything. She didn't want to accidentally hurt her boyfriend after all.

Dropping the Henge, Naruto flopped to the floor laughing…rolling around before gaining control of himself. Getting back up, he stuck his tongue out at his "brother" and did his patented butt wiggle at the still gaping Sasuke. Grinning, he turned squinty eyes towards Iruka before he paled as the evil monstrosity known only as the "Demon Head no Jutsu" made its appearance.

"BAKA! DON'T USE SHINOBI SKILLS FOR SUCH BASELESS ACTS!"

Naruto for his part had scampered behind his girlfriend, whimpering, much to her amusement as she attempted…and failed…at covering up a giggle. After the rest of the class had regained their composure, minus the girls who couldn't even glance at Sasuke or Arashi without blushing furiously, they went down the line with some failing the test and the rest succeeding before they got down to Arashi. Arashi for part did the exact same as Naruto minus the hand seals, which got raised eyebrows from Iruka. Iruka shrugged before comforting the ones who didn't get it, after all they had a month to get it right. Mizuki, who had been listening outside, decided to choose that moment to walk in the door.

"Iruka-sensei, the outdoor area has been prepared for the tests outside."

"Alright class, please follow Mizuki-sensei outside. I will be outside shortly. Arashi and Naruto, please stay."

The rest of the class filed out, eyeing the two left behind before the door slid closed behind them. Iruka waited for a moment till he was sure everyone was gone, before turning towards the two boys standing in front of him.

"So…."

* * *

_Hokages Office_

As soon as Kakashi and Arashi left the office, Sarutobi turned to the three gathered in front of him…before lighting his pipe. He was positive he'd need it for this. He gave the red-headed woman in front of him a quiet glance before turning towards Tsunade and Jirayia.

"So Tsunade-chan, Jirayia-kun…how was Arashi's training?"

Both of them looked at each other, before looking towards their old sensei…before bursting out into laughter. Kyuu for her part giggled, a slight smirk on her lips. If only the old man knew the extent of it. She knew better, even more so than the other two. She HAD been in the seal during the entire time after all.

"Well, he didn't show any aptitude for med-nin training, so we mostly kept him busy with Ninjutsu and Genjutsu training. He practically knows all the Ninjutsu we do, as well as some potent Genjutsu…though he doesn't show as high an aptitude for Genjutsu as some others. His overall power though tends to compensate for this. "

Here they hesitated for a moment, before Jirayia continued…Tsunade having closed her eyes deciding to remain silent.

"His Taijutsu training and Kenjutsu training was taken over by his...parents…before they left to god knows where. That was before we left to come here. From what little they told me, Arashi completed everything they had planned for him." He stopped there, debating on going further before Sarutobi interrupted him.

"Then that means he was taught…'those' techniques?"

At Jirayias nod, he slumped down in the chair, a sigh whisping out along with the smoke from his lips. So the techniques had been passed on. It really WAS them then, not some genjutsu. He eyed Jirayia, eyes narrowed underneath the brim of the hat perched on his head. "So then it WAS a summoning seal? How? The seal he used was only just for that, to seal the Kyuubi (Kyuu winced at this) and nothing else." He was about to continue before Jirayia raised his hand, leaning against the desk.

"From what I managed to figure out Minato actually TALKED to the Shinigami. Normally calling on the Death God results in both souls being eaten and forced to battle for all of eternity. However, this didn't happen. He merely sealed a soul, while giving up his own to be taken. He would be giving up more then what the price to do so actually WAS. So he asked the Death God for 10 years. When the time was right, and Arashi was away, the seal on his stomach would activate and he would be given 10 years to help train him. He never said why the seal was only on Arashi, but I believe it wasn't him that placed it but the Death God. He never got a choice which baby it was that got it. It's sort of like the Kyuubi seal. Only one can have the mind of Kyuubi sealed inside of them, since you can't split a mind."

Sarutobi nodded, hands holding up his chin as he gazed wordlessly at the red-head in question. So much, over a single sealing. Closing his eyes he muttered to himself. "Is there anything else?"

Jirayia hesitated again, before glancing towards Kyuu. "Hai, but she will be the one to tell you. She said it was her doing, so I'll let her explain it."

Nodding, Sarutobi gazed at Kyuu…pale smoke leaking from between his lips. He continued on like this, wordlessly, until she actually started to get a bit nervous. This was banished however, as he suddenly smiled. "Well Kyuubi-san, from what letters I have received your story has been told to me as well as the reason why you attacked. The three of us here have already forgiven you, but we can't have you walking around being called 'Kyuubi' or 'Kyuu-chan'. While sometimes slow on the uptake, the general populace would soon get wise. The names are too familiar to them still."

Kyuu blinked, before sighing…her shoulders slumping. "I suppose you're right. But I can't go around nameless. I was never partial to be called 'Hey you!' by others you know?" She snickered before pouting a bit. While she had no special connection with the Kyuubi name (It was after all just a title for the number of tails she had), she had gotten used to it. You would too, if you had been called that for seven thousand years.

"Hmmm, well why don't be let your mat…erhm…Arashi decide? I am sure he would be able to come up with a better name then an old man like me, as he knows you better."

At her affirmative, he turned to the three as a whole…glancing towards a corner. "Does that settle your curiosity, Kakashi-san?" A poof of smoke greeted them, revealing Kakashi with little orange book in hand…much to Jirayias delight. "Hai Hokage-sama, but where would they stay? My apartment while big enough for me and Naruto is too small for four people."

Nodding, Sarutobi reached into a drawer and took out a ring of keys…sliding them across the top of his desk in Kakashi's general direction. "May haps I should have done this earlier, in regards to both Naruto and yourself. Those keys belong to the Namikaze estate. It is, after all, their home…so I'm sure after everything is explained they will be more than happy to stay there. You as well, Kakashi-san. I'm sure Naruto would be very happy to have you still living with him. Tsunade, Jirayia…if you two decide to stay why don't you teach Naruto now? I know Minato never played favorites, and he'd be overjoyed to have two more strong teachers."

With an eye-smile and two nods in answer, the three poofed away…leaving Kyuu alone with the Hokage. "Well now, classes should be getting out soon, and I'm sure Arashi will be here first thing to make sure nothing has happened to you in his absence along with introducing you to Naruto. Until then, I wish to talk to you about Arashi's fusion and what could happen to Naruto."

Kyuu nodded, before leaning back in her chair. "As you know from those two just now, the summoning seal on Arashis' stomach activated the moment he was taken to his fathers old house. What they DIDN'T tell you, or rather didn't know, was that it was a very specific time seal. They think that the seal counted down the ten years from the moment of it's activation. That's not entirely true, at least from what I discovered. Minato and Kushina couldn't really start training him until he was three, so why waste three years? The way the seal works, is that time is only counted OUTSIDE the seal. So if they left the seal for a month, then went back in for five years before they came out again...they would still have nine years and eleven months left on their time."

Sarutobi stared at her as if she grew another head, pipe hanging unlit and useless from his lips. "You mean...?"

Kyuu grinned foxily, "Hai, the seal still has almost three years left on it. Minato and Kushina wanted to train their other son, and perform the same ritual they did to Arashi..."

* * *

_Academy_

"I was asked to relay a message by Hokage-sama when I managed to get you two alone. Naruto, your Otou-san will be along after class to pick you and Arashi up and take you to the Hokages office."

At their affirmation, he nodded and waved them off to follow the rest of the class…going back to the bane of teacher and Hokage alike, paperwork.

As the two left the struggling teacher, Naruto glanced over towards Arashi before looking forwards again. He repeated this a few times on the way, before Arashi stopped and eyed his brother…a red brow arched. "Do I have something on my face? Or is there some other reason as to why you keep staring at me otouto-chan." Blinking at the name (both because of the implication and the playful insult) Naruto let out a nervous laugh before looking away. "I just…never thought I would have any family members left anywhere. The others may not believe you, but I'm not so sure. You…FEEL…like me, though I'm not positive that's the correct way of saying it. You look like me, if a little bit older and taller. Our birthmarks speak volumes, though only the adults would get it. It's just, how can you look so different and yet be the same?" He looked almost pleadingly at Arashi, hungry for any clue. He was HUNGRY for a family, a real family…not an adoption or some fake family.

Not to get him wrong, he loved Kakashi as a real father…but deep down he knew he wasn't family and Kakashi knew that as well. Arashi knew this, and understood. They were alike, and yet similar. He had red hair and looked like an older version. He was quiet, calm…almost the exact opposite of his brother. Naruto was loud and expressive, blonde haired and blue-eyed. That was most likely one of the things his otouto was curious about, but he would have to wait until later to tell him about his own eyes.

"I had something…happen…to me that caused a slight change in my appearance. Otherwise I would have the same golden hair that you do Otouto-chan." Not exactly an answer, since it didn't actually ANSWER anything. He was raised differently, alone and in solitude…so he was calm and collected much like the tranquility of the forest he had lived in. Naruto made a face at the answer, turning as they continued their walk.

"And why do you call me Otouto? Otou-san and Hiashi-san told me we were born on the same day when they had heard you were coming back." He crossed both hands behind his head as they exited outside towards the waiting class in front of them, ignoring the glares from the few villagers that were walking down the street adjacent to them.

"Well, you were born exactly eight minutes after me so that makes me the older brother."

They both stopped, turning as one to look each other in the eye before they burst into laughter, joining the group as they listened to the drone of Mizuki explaining about the spars and exercises they were going to be doing. "Whatever you say aniki." Both of them snickered, earning them odd glances from the students around them before Hinata finally joined them. "Ano, my name is Hyuuga Hinata. Nice to meet you Arashi-san." She was about to bow, before Arashi chuckled. "Ne Hinata-chan, you don't need to be formal with me. Arashi-kun is fine. I've known all about you from my brother here." That earned him two curious glances before Mizuki broke in.

"Alright, we're going to have shuriken and kunai practice to start out then work our way to ninjutsu and taijutsu. When I call your names step up and throw."

He went down the list, leaving Arashi and Naruto (along with Hinata) to get to know each other since both brothers would be near the bottom of the list to their surnames. Naruto was reenacting a prank he had played on Iruka-sensei before, much to the amusement of the other two before Mizuki's voice cut in.

"Hyuuga Hinata"

Blushing at the two rousing cheers she heard from the back of the back of the crowd (completely missing the two posters with "GO SUPER HINATA!" being held up by the two brothers as they cheered her on) she picked up the practice shuriken before walking in front of the target. Nodding towards Mizuki-sensei, she started throwing slow and evenly. It seemed, in her eyes at least, that half the class had considered it a race and threw as fast as they could and as hard as they could. And missed, more often than not. She knew it wasn't a competition, so she took her time…and her score spoke the truth of the matter.

Eight out of ten.

Beaming as two more loud cheers echoed in the back of the class, she blushingly made her way back towards the grinning brothers (who had since hid the signs, fearing she'd explode from blushing) as they congratulated her on a job well done. Their merrymaking was interrupted by a name being called a boisterous guffaw breaking through them as Kiba thrust his way past Naruto and winked at Hinata. "Watch how a REAL ninja throws Hinata, not some baby like Naruto." Pushing his way to the front, he smirked…unknowing of the three glares (or two, as the blindfold hid anything that Arashi might have done with his eyes) as he took up the shuriken and kunai and started throwing.

Seven out of ten.

He puffed out his chest, completely ignoring the snickers from some of the group at bragging about a score like that. Walking back to the three, he offered what he considered to be a winning grin at Hinata before smirking condescendingly at Naruto. "Let's see you beat that." He moved back over towards his spot, either ignoring or deciding not to pay attention to the whimpers of Akamaru from his perch on his masters' head. The pup knew what his master did not, especially about those two. They smelled of power, of something old and vast…especially the red-haired one.

"Uchiha Sasuke"

Smirking quietly, Sasuke made his way forward and grabbed the training implements, kunai in his left and shuriken in his right. With a flick of his wrists, he sent them down towards the training logs….

Nine out of ten.

Turning, he walked over towards Naruto…leaning up against the tree near him. Over the years since the massacre of his clan, he had grown closed. To everyone except Naruto and Hinata that is. It had been the both of them who managed to get past his icy shell and reach the innocent boy still hidden with him. While Sasuke had to keep up appearances, thanks to both them and his mother he was nowhere near as cold as he would have been. To him, Naruto and Hinata were his best friends…though the rest of the village would never know it.

"Tch, let's see you beat that dobe."

Even the nickname was playful, whereas it would have been cold and hurtful before. Naruto grinned his foxy grin, just as his name was called. Winking at Hinata and Arashi, he made his way forward to the cheers of all three (though Sasuke's was a silent one), little chibi Naruto banners waving in the breeze. Taking them up in much the same way as Sasuke had, he flicked his hands out towards the trees…loud thunks echoing as they made contact.

Nine out of ten.

Pouting, he turned and walked back to the three with his head down…though a smile lay hidden on his lips as he passed a silent and gaping Kiba. Scooping up Hinata in a hug he twirled her around as she giggled, winking over at his brother before sticking his tongue out at him. "Let's see you beat THAT, 'aniki'". Shrugging, Arashi walked up just as his name was called…tossing the shuriken and kunai down range the same way as the two before him. Just before the last one would have hit, a soft 'chink' of metal on metal was heard as it missed its mark.

Nine out of ten.

Shrugging, he made his way back to the group with a foxy grin of his own…though he was laughing mentally along with Kyuu, who had connected with him just as he was about to go. Why were they laughing? The look on Mizuki's face as he looked down range and found the tenth would have hit if it hadn't hit one already imbedded in it. Leaning on Naruto's shoulders, Arashi idly noogied his otouto much to his personal dismay and amusement of Sasuke and Hinata as they made their way towards the sparring areas

"Alright, for the ninjutsu portion of the practice I want you to show me one ninjutsu of your personal choice from your arsenal. Nothing too large or flashy."

One by one they went. Chouji with his Baika no Jutsu, Shikamaru (who had decided to finally stop napping) then catching him with his Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Bind) so that Ino could use her Shintenshin on Chouji (Unsure of the exact name. Art of the Valentine I believe? Correct me if I'm wrong).

Sasuke used his Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Grand Fireball), while Naruto used his Kage Bunshin No Jutsu. Hinata, much to the surprise of Mizuki and Naruto, used the Hakke: Kaiten which was supposedly a move used only by the Jounin or higher Hyuuga clan members. Arashi, much to the disappointment of the others, followed in his brothers' wake in using the Kage Bunshin as his technique. Though the fact he did it without calling the technique out or using hand seals did not register with the majority of the class, save for his brother, Hinata and Sasuke.

Kiba used his Gatsouuga, much to the chagrin of Mizuki who reprimanded him when he specifically said no highly damaging techniques. Kiba, who had been trying to show up Naruto, brushed it off however as he walked back to his spot.

Sakura, much to her embarrassment, didn't know what to use. She knew only the academy techniques. Wracking her brain, she finally remembered a simple genjutsu her mother had taught her to use on Naruto at one time…though when she had it had been dispelled rather easily (more so due to her weak chakra pool than anything else). She glanced at Naruto, green eyes narrowing as she saw him talking to HER Sasuke-kun. She never forgot what he did to her mother, or so she was told…only adding to the hate she had for him always being around Sasuke-kun.

Nodding, Mizuki led them over to a series of smoothed out patches of ground. Various training dummies lay scattered around as they stuck from the ground like thick scarecrows.

"Alright students. Matches will be one on one, taijutsu only. If you're caught using genjutsu or ninjutsu you will instantly lose. I will separate you into groups of three and put you each in a 'ring'. Two will fight each other, and the winner will fight the third person after a small break. Any questions?"

At their negative he split them up into groups of three. Sasuke, Hinata and Naruto were sent to one. Kiba, Shino and Sakura were sent to two and Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru were sent to three. The rest of the class was split amongst the remaining three fields. Turning towards Arashi, Mizuki offered an apologetic grin.

"Sorry Arashi-kun. To keep things fair and even I made the teams like this." He kept silent the fact that for all looks, he really didn't think Arashi would match up to anyone…with him having just joined the Academy. Little did he know how wrong he was.

"It's quite alright Mizuki-sensei, I'll go watch my brother. Maybe if he's not winded at the end of his fight I'll have a chance."

Nodding to the teacher, he turned and made his way over towards the three gathered…watching as the beginning bout of Hinata vs. Naruto went under way. He grinned, wondering exactly how his brother was not only going to counter-act the effects of Jyuuken…but also the effects of fighting his own girlfriend. He could already see him starting to have a little bit of trouble, as he seemed hesitant to hit Hinata.

An open palm Jyuuken smack to the stomach soon fixed that.

All in all however, they decided to call it a draw after fifteen minutes of fighting. They had partner trained all their young lives together, and they knew each other's fighting styles inside and out…which got them thinking as to why Mizuki-sensei would start them fighting together anyway. Shrugging, Arashi glanced to the side as Hinata and Sasuke started their own match with Naruto rooting them both on.

Shino it seemed had beaten Sakura (embarrassingly easily) and was squaring off against Kiba. Ino had lost Chouji, while Shikamaru flat out decided to declare Chouji the victor…much to his annoyance. The only 'real' fight left outside their group was Shino vs. Kiba, with most of the class that had finished making their way to watch Hinata and Sasuke face off. Though soon everyone joined them, as Shino used a clever sweep kick to knock Kiba into a tree trunk as he stumbled…giving him just enough time to move in for a potential killing blow and end the match.

Arashi shook his head. Kiba was far too absorbed into going after Hinata than actually working to be a better shinobi. The fact he clumsily attacked with the academy taijutsu and not the beast enhanced taijutsu of his clan only exposed that fact more, even if he was a novice in the style. Plopping down by his otouto, he grinned as he watched Hinata exploit an advantage and close the tenketsu in Sasuke's left arm…thereby ending the match. Just as he was about to open his mouth to Naruto, he was beaten to the punch as said energetic boy turned to him and grinned.

"Ne aniki, wanna spar?"

Chuckling, he acted as if he was thinking… before letting out a good natured groan and moving to his feet. "If you want to otouto-chan, after all I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself." Grinning as Naruto pouted, he moved to the ring…the gaze of the entire class on them. Naruto stopped halfway, before turning towards Hinata. "Ne ne, Hina-chan, should I use it?" Blinking owlishly, wondering what he could mean before the realization hit her Hinata nodded with a smile. Whooping in happiness, he bounded over towards the sparring area…any and all fatigue from his previous match seeming to have gone.

"Mah aniki-chan, I'm going to use a taijutsu style me and the old man came up with. He said it 'suited me'. So don't hold back!"

Moving his hands upwards, he settled into an odd stance. His left hand was flat, palm facing upwards towards his face, as it settled in front of his stomach. His right was flat as well, palm facing his chest as it hovered above his left hand. Moving his left leg forward, he settled into a wide stance with the weight slightly on his forefoot…indicating a mainly offensive style.

Arashi watched all this with curiosity, before smiling and nodding before he assumed his own stance…one that no one recognized. His left foot was pointed towards Naruto, the left leg extended. He was crouched down slightly on his right leg, his body lowered a bit as he moved his left arm downwards. It was stretched towards the ground, fist open with the open palm facing in front of him. His right arm extended directly in front of him, palm facing forward as well…with the ring finger and pinky finger folded down, leaving the thumb and forefinger/middle finger facing upwards toward the sky (It's the same hand style as when they gather chakra if that helps any).

"My main taijutsu style has no stances or katas, so I'll use a modified style I picked up on my training."

Both fighters stood there, looking at each other silently as a single leaf slowly drifted down in the middle of them from an overhead branch. Slowly it wafted, before it gently set down on the grassy floor beneath them.

And then they struck…..

* * *

Yeah chapter six is all done now! Sorry about the lateness of getting it out. I should be back on track as far as updates and suck. 

I purposely left out the names of the taijutsu styles both of them are using at the moment (cause I love to tease you kukuku), and they will be revealed next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed this one. I thought I came through a bit better on this chapter than my previous ones.

Ja ne!


	7. The Uzumaki Twins

Alrighty ladies and gents. Sorry about the initial delay, but I had a few things to go over that I wanted to make SURE was what I wanted…mainly the teams and the sensei's that I wanted to make in this iteration. So far everything has turned out to be about what I expected it to be, and some things may even turn out to be a surprise for some people.

I'll be taking care of the concerns and comments some people sent me at the authors' notes at the end of the chapter. So enjoy!

* * *

_Previously…_

_Moving his hands upwards, he settled into an odd stance. His left hand was flat, palm facing upwards towards his face, as it settled in front of his stomach. His right was flat as well, palm facing his chest as it hovered above his left hand. Moving his left leg forward, he settled into a wide stance with the weight slightly on his forefoot…indicating a mainly offensive style._

_Arashi watched all this with curiosity, before smiling and assuming his own stance…one that no one recognized. His left foot was pointed towards Naruto, the left leg extended. He was crouched down slightly on his right leg, his body lowered a bit as he moved his left arm downwards. It was stretched towards the ground, fist open with the open palm facing in front of him. His right arm extended directly in front of him, palm facing forward as well…with the ring finger and pinky finger folded down, leaving the thumb and forefinger/middle finger facing upwards toward the sky (It's the same hand style as when they gather chakra if that helps any)._

"_My main taijutsu style has no stances or katas, so I'll use a modified style I picked up on my training."_

_Both fighters stood there, looking at each other silently as a single leaf slowly drifted down in the middle of them from an overhead branch. Slowly it wafted, before it gently set down on the grassy floor beneath them._

_And then they struck….._

* * *

Both boys sped towards each other, hands held in their respective poses before a poof of smoke appeared between them, halting their advance. Before a word could escape them, a cry rang out. A cry that would spell doom and bring about utter apocalypse in the most horrible of ways!

"**Oiroke no Jutsu!"**

Two sets of eyes widened as the smoke cleared, the first signs of the new visitor being the long silky red hair that swayed slightly in the wind. Long, slender pale legs were next…leading up to a pair of slim curvy hips and a small waist. Violet eyes peeked out of the cloud of smoke, a coy smile wrapped on full pink lips as a small kiss was blown to both boys…a well-endowed yet perky chest, neither too big nor too small, hidden by some strategically placed clouds.



"Arrraaa-kkuuunnnnn"

**WHAM**

Naruto, one hand over his mouth and nose to hide the rosy blush (as well as the telltale signs of a nosebleed) snickered as his "aniki" (along with most of the male portion of the class) slammed into the ground, twitching slightly before a low growl came from where the poor boy was plastered to the ground. Kyuu giggled, the light musical sound filling the clearing as she poofed back into her normal form. She skipped over to the prostrate form of Arashi, bending over before lightly prodding him with a toe.

"Awwww, I think I broke him." The soft pout, the teasing light in the violet eyes almost made her look sorry for what she did.

Almost.

"Goddamnit Kyuu, MUST you do that whenever I'm in the middle of something?" Arashi growled, situating himself after getting to his feet…brushing his clothes off as he glared at his still snickering brother. Glowering, a sudden wicked grin curled his lips before he poofed into smoke himself. Naruto, too busy laughing at his brother, didn't quite pay attention like he should.

"Narrruuuu-kkuunnnn."

Naruto stopped and whipped around, blue eyes widening to the size of dinner plates at the blue haired goddess before him…the pale violet eyes giving away who it was almost instantly before said eyes batted lightly at him, the vision of loveliness draping itself across him as soft pink lips kissed his cheek. Naruto was ALL too aware of certain, ummm, "assets" pressed into his back as well…before his eyes rolled up into his head and he fainted, a trickle of blood dripping from his nose.

Arashi smirked as he transformed back, hands triumphantly on his hips. "HAH! That's what you GET Otou…to?" Shivering at a sudden spike of killing intent, he turned around to spot a wrathful Hinata (who was sporting a rosy blush of her own) glowering at him, Byakugan pulsing around her eyes.

"Ehehehehe….oops? EEK!"

Turning tail, he fled with a very very angry Hyuuga Hinata chasing after him...kunai and shuriken whipping along behind him as he hightailed it away from her.

"Come on now Hinata! IT WAS A JOKE!"

"BAKA! I DON'T CARE IF YOU ARE NARU-KUNS BROTHER, I'LL KILL YOU!"

"Just think of it like Naruto getting used to your future sel- OW!"

The rest of the class laughed (the boys had regained consciousness after Hinata had started to chase him), before Iruka clapped his hands. "Alright class, that's enough. It's time to go back inside." A loud chorus of 'awwwww' rang through the air before they trudged back to the academy. Hinata, panting as 

she glowered at a certain brother who was currently pinned to a tree with kunai, turned and huffed as she walked back to her Naru-kun who after regaining conscious fainted again at the sight of her approaching. Sighing, he picked him up and walked back into the academy doors…muttering about pervert brothers.

"……Ummmm, a little help?"

* * *

Arashi muttered, having been helped by Kyuu-chan as he walked into the class, eeping as he hid behind her as the patented 'Hyuuga Death Glare' was leveled on him full force by a certain kunoichi. They made their way back towards their seats, careful to avoid the irked girl…a dazed Naruto sitting beside her.

"Alright class, now that we have everyone I'd like to announce that we'll be having the graduation exam in one month. I suggest you practice up on your techniques and get ready for the exam. Class dismissed except for Naruto, Arashi and …erhm…Kyuu?" Iruka sighed before setting down his papers.

The distinct chatter of the class slowly died away, with Shikamaru, Chouji and Shino saying goodbye to Naruto and Hinata. Sakura just hmphed along with Ino, while Sasuke just sighed and shook his head…nodding to his best friend before heading out as well. Kiba was just ignored.

The few remaining chatted amongst themselves, Hinata having calmed down enough not to murder a certain brother who was always sure to keep at least one person between them at all times. You never could be too careful after all. Naruto finally woke up out of his daze, just in time to hear a loud cough from down near the front of the classroom. Four pairs of eyes all turned towards the noise, blinking at the smoking form of the Hokage as well as Kakashi.

"Yo!"

Sarutobi chuckled, before he motioned the four youths down.

"Naruto, Arashi…I need to talk to you all in regards to certain things that will be happening in the near future. I'm sorry Hinata-chan, but you won't be able to join us."

Hinata pouted but nodded all the same, before turning and lightly kissing her boyfriend on the cheek and skipping out…not noticing the puddle of goo he melted into after the fact.

"……ewwww."

Arashi and Kyuu snickered a bit, before looking towards the assembled adults. Kakashi, taking his cue from the Hokage, made a few hand symbols, before sounding out "_Ninpou: Fugen no Ankoku"!_ The assembled students blinked in awe as they watched lines of blue trace along the walls…before a bright flash of blue illuminated them then disappeared. Nodding to the Hokage, Kakashi leaned against a desk.



Sarutobi smiled down to the youths, motioning for them to take a seat. Once they did, he folded his hands behind his back.

"I came to talk to you three on certain specifics regarding Arashi as well as, erhm, Kyuu. Naruto, before I begin, is there anything you wish to ask?" Naruto quickly shook his head, azure eyes widening slightly. If the old man was here, this definitely had to be something big. "Very well then, first things first. Arashi, I've talked to Kyuu and agreed with her on specific matters. However, you are going to have to give her another name. Certain ….factions….inside Konoha would most likely put two and two together and that would create undue problems." Arashi nodded, leaning back…incidentally right against Kyuu who was more than happy to idly slide her fingers through his hair.

Coughing, the Hokage continued. "That is up to your discretion, and we'll go from there after that. Naruto, I know this is going to be hard for you, but I have some information for you that may trouble you." Waiting on a reaction, and seeing none, he continued. "You were told that no one knew who your parents were, but that's not necessarily the truth. Arashi, if you could?"

Fidgeting a bit, Arashi sighed before slipping to his feet. Making a ram seal, he closed his eyes (not that anyone could see anyway).

"_Hijutsu: Ai no Mokou!"_

Two large poofs of smoke exploded in front of him. Arashi sat back down, wincing slightly as he settled back against his Kyuu-chan who purrrrred softly. Snickering, the smile left his face as he looked forward…a startled gasp from his side causing him to wince again. Kami knew how his brother was going to take it.

Two shapes slowly materialized, before the smoke dispersed. The shorter one slowly stepped out of the remaining wisps that curled in the air. Long fiery red hair swayed to her hips, bright blue eyes twinkling with mirth. She was dressed in the attire of an ANBU Captain, though her headband wasn't one Naruto immediately recognized. Turning, he looked towards the taller one…the immediate thing sticking out being the mob of bright yellow hair that spiked in every direction. Piercing azure eyes seemed to smile down at him, the white coat flapping around him for a brief moment…the flames almost alive on its edge.

The two parties stared at each other for a brief minute, before Naruto was startled from his daze by a hand gently settling on his shoulder. Turning towards his brother, he received a nod and a gentle push towards the two figures…his azure eyes wide and misty as he gazed up at them.

"Hello Naru-chan."

* * *

_Konoha – Main Street_

Sakura huffed as she left the academy, arms crossed over her chest. Finally seeing her chance to convince Sasuke-kun of her love without that troublesome Naruto around, she had asked him on a date only to be shot down horribly.

"Stupid Naruto, poisoning my Sasuke-kuns mind! **CHA!"**

Continuing her muttering, she slammed the front door open to her house and stomped her way into the living room…only to look blankly at her mother and the man sitting next to her. The man nodded to her mother, before he smiled at her and walked out the door. Sakura watched him go, before turning a curious eye to her mother. Thanks to the …."chat"….Sori had with Anko, she was no longer able to be a kunoichi let alone a civilian most times.

"Kaa-san, who was that man?"

Sori smiled before she struggled to her feet, taking her time walking over towards her "darling" daughter.

"His name is Danzo sweetheart, but don't worry about that. Tell me, what do you know about Uzumaki Naruto?"

Sori watched the expression on her daughters face sour, an evil grin forming in her mind. _ Perfect._

"He's so stupid! He's always getting in the way of me and Sasuke-kun! Stupid dobe, he needs to just…just….DIE or something!" If she hadn't turned away in a huff, she might have been a little scared at the expression that spread across her mother's face.

"Well dear, what if I told you Danzo-sama had a perfect way for you to be with Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura whirled around, sparkling stars hovering around her eyes as she gazed lovingly up at her mother. "REALLY?!" Sakura squealed, happy something was finally going her way. Sori just coughed, wrapping her daughter up in a hug.

"But first, let me tell you about a demon named Kyuubi…."

* * *

Kiba was angry, no….BEYOND angry. He was pissed. How the hell the dobe got HIS girl never ceased to be a mystery to him. HE was the alpha male, the top dog. HE was supposed to get all the girls. Growling, he stalked his way home with Akamaru trotting behind…a soft whimper of worry escaping the little ninken. Pushing the door open, Kiba huffed and threw himself on the living room couch…alerting his sister and mother to his presence.



"Kiba-kun! How was your day at school?" Tsume walked out of the kitchen, her dog Kuromaru not far behind. Hana flopped down beside her little bro, smirking down at him. Kiba huffed, and turned his head away, a mumble of 'fine' escaping his throat. He really didn't want to talk about it.

"Well, dinner will be ready shortly. Go clean up."

Turning around, Tsume walked back in the kitchen….leaving the two siblings alone (along with one other). Hana, eyeing her mother, grinned and leaned over her little brother….prodding him in the side.

"So otouto, did you get your little girl yet?" She laughed as her finger got swatted away, the scowl evident on his face.

"Shut up sis! I don't want to hear it. I hate that stupid Uzumaki. He always seems to get things his way, stupid dobe."

Hana grinned ferally at this, before she leaned down and whispered in her little brothers ear…her meeting with a certain man still fresh in her mind. "Neh, Otouto….want to know a secret?" Seeing Kiba's curiosity, she grinned. _This is gonna be fun. All is going according to plan._

"Let me tell you a little secret about our little Uzumaki friend. It all goes back to October 10th, 11 years ago….."

Kiba listened with rapt attention, eyes growing wider and wider by the second. Both siblings unaware of the single golden eye watching them from the shadows before it slowly disappeared.

* * *

_Konoha – The Underneath_

A shadow shifted in the darkness, accompanied by two others. Turning, the moved into a room and seated themselves, a single candle casting its flickering light in the dismal room.

"I take it everything is going according to plan?"

One shadow shifted, before a flash of white marked a wide smile. "Both have 'seen the light' and will be joining us soon. Everything is going smoothly. I still can't believe you have an interest in that boy as well."

The last shadow shifted, though there seemed something off. It was almost TOO lithe, too sinuous.

"The boy is a side project, nothing more. Just a little….experiment."

Nodding, the three shadows grinning to each other….before the candle was snuffed out by an unseen wind, their voices echoing in the still air.

_To the death of the boy, and the fall of the Leaf….._

* * *

_Konoha – Academy_

Naruto stood stock still. He didn't know what to make of this, and he was utterly confused. Of course, this wasn't a novel concept to him, as it happened often. But still! The mist in his eyes turned to tears as the woman kneeled down in front of him, smiling sadly up into his shocked face.

"We missed you so much Naru-chan."

His mind was still rebooting before he staggered, one hand resting on the desk. He looked pleadingly towards the old man, hoping for something….anything!...that would give him some sort of clue. Sarutobi merely smiled sadly, before taking pity on the boy.

"Naruto, meet Namikaze Minato….and Uzumaki Kushina. They are your parents."

**THUD**

Five sets of eyes watched the blonde haired boy smack into the ground again in a dead faint, before a slight chuckle left Arashi's lips.

"He realllllyyyyy likes them stairs."

Smack.

"OW! Kyuu-chan that was mean!"

The adults snickered at the scene, before Kakashi walked over to Naruto and leaned down…pulling out a small vial. _Never thought I'd use this on Naruto. I always kept it around for Hinata._ Uncapping the bottle, he waved it under his nose…the sudden thrashing from Naruto all the signs he needed that it was working. Sitting up bleary eyed, Naruto peered around before looking straight up…tears suddenly coming unbidden to his eyes again.

"O-otou-san? Kaa-san?"

Both nodded, and he finally broke down…streams of tears trickling down his cheeks as he launched himself at the two, clinging to their legs like a lost child. Everyone else watched sadly, a soft smile on their lips. It took some minutes before his crying settled down, but everyone soon formed a little circle 

together…Naruto not leaving his parents arms for a second. He gazed with a dazed expression on his face at his father, who beamed happily at him.

"But…h-how? Kakashi-nii-san told me you died while fighting the Kyuubi. How can you be alive?"

Minato and Kushina glanced at each other, before launching into a short description of their fight, along with their deal with the Shinigami. Naruto just stared, mouth agape as he listened with rapt attention until they finally stopped. "In the end, the Shinigami agreed to give us eight years…but later extended it to ten years to better help you two." They kept to themselves how they got the two year extension, a meaningful glance shooting towards Arashi.

"So, you're like ghosts or something?," Naruto scratched the back of his head in confusion, before shrugging. Whatever, it didn't matter. His parents were here! That's all he ever wanted in life. Minato and Kushina smiled, gently hugging their son to them.

"Now, there is something that has to be done. We already trained Arashi as much as we were able in the five years we were able in these bodies. Now we want to train you Naru-chan." Both parents laughed at the look of pure happiness on the blonde face. Ah he was easy to please.

"REALLY?! THAT'S SOOOOO COOOL!"

Leaping to his feet, Naruto danced around a bit, ignoring the chuckling of everyone around him. Stopping for a moment, he pouted at them all, sticking his tongue out at them with a quiet 'nyah'. Minato quickly caught him and gave him a noogie, a loud 'ACK' heard as Naruto tried to squirm away. Kyuu cleared her throat, before glancing meaningfully at the Hokage. Coughing, Sarutobi turned towards the happy family, smiling. "Naruto, there is something else. The red head you see there is someone special as well." Naruto turned and squinted at Kyuu, he winked saucily at him…giggling at the pink tint that tickled his cheeks at the gesture.

"Ne ne, who is she then Jiji? I don't remember her from anywhere." The adults glanced at each other, before smiling down to Naruto. "Naruto, her name is Kyuu…but her full name is Kyuubi no Youko."

Naruto stood stock still, slowly turning to stare at the redhead who gazed sadly at him…nodding. He gaped like a fish, before he squinted at her. He was silent, merely gazing at her…which seemed to cause he no amount of apprehension. It's not like she could blame him if he blamed her for killing her parents, since technically she DID. Both of their thoughts were broken by the gentle jostling of his parents.

"Naruto, me and your mother want you to know it WASN'T her fault we died. Well it was, but I mean it wasn't. Wait…..GAH!" Kushina giggled at her husband's inability with words, before smiling down at her Naru-chan. "What your otou-san is trying to say is, while Kyuu did kill us…she was not herself when she did it. So please don't blame her for something that was done in the past. Try to know her for the present."



Naruto sat quietly for a moment, before nodding once. He didn't know what to think. First his parents come back to…well not life…but they were here. Then the Kyuubi itself was in a human body, and girlfriend to his brother even! What next? They were all secretly foxes or something?!

"Ano, Naruto-kun, there is something else we need to discuss. Or rather, we should just show you." Kyuu looked down at Arashi, who sighed and nodded as he slid to his feet. Naruto eyed them warily before he faced them fully, only to hear "Kai!". He stared for a few moments, before his eyes rolled up into his head and he fainted….again.

"I told you he likes those stairs!"

SMACK

"OW DAMNIT STOP HITTING ME!"

* * *

Naruto slowly awoke, AGAIN, to peer directly into the worried faces of both his brother as well as Kyuu. Blinking at the closeness, he squinted at them before flopping around in an attempt to get to his feet. Both snickered before backing away, giving him some room.

"Ok, can you explain to me WHY you two have fox tails and ears?"

Arashi grinned sheepishly, seven red tails waving slowly behind him…brushing up against the three tails of Kyuu. "Weeeellllll, while Kyuu-chan is technically in her own body, the majority of her chakra from when she was a Bijuu was split evenly between me and you. I fused with mine, which gave me tails and ears…while also allowing her to get a body. The same thing will happen to you when you fuse as well."

Naruto blinked, and then pouted. "But….what if I don't WANT tails and ears?!" Both kitsune sweat dropped, before sighing. "Well, you COULD stay as you are as long as you remember that in your state Kyuu-chans chakra is technically not harmonized with your own. That's why your chakra control is so bad, you have half your chakra wanting one thing and the other half wanting another. Besides, when you fuse you gain quite a few benefits." Naruto perked up at this, before sitting down at a desk. He glanced to the side, both his parents and his nii-san talking to the Hokage off to the side.

"So how would it happen? Is it painful?" He grimaced, remembering a memory from before…missing the four adults slowly walking back up to them.

"No Naruto-kun, it's not painful. And we already have the perfect place to do it. That's where we're going to be going now, if you wish to go through with it." Naruto hesitated for a moment, before nodding. Arashi and Kyuu smiled, once more hiding their "foxy" features. Minato grinned as he stepped forward, before clearing his throat. "Well, the sooner it's done…the better. Everyone grab a hold of my arm."



Once everyone touched his arm, Minato winked to his sons…almost as if he had an inside joke.

"_Hiraishin no Jutsu"_

* * *

_Konoha Outskirts – Mansion_

A yellow flash lit up the area briefly, before it died down…revealing a small group of people…two of which fell down.

"Damnit otou-san, warn us before you do that. Makes me dizzy."

Minato chuckled sheepishly, before dragging both boys over to the seal painted in the middle of the courtyard.

"Now Naruto, this is where Arashi fused and brought out the Kyuubi. You're going to use the same thing, except there won't be a millennia old demon coming out of your head." He pointedly ignored the two glares shot at him by the two in question. "Now, stand in the middle of the seal son." Naruto gulped, before slowly stepping forward and standing in the middle of the seal…watching as his otou-san and kaa-san took up residence on either side of the seal. Running through a long set of hand seals, some thirty or so, they slammed their hands down on the edge of the seal.

"_Fuuinjutsu: Nyuukai no Joukai Tsuchi!"_

The gigantic seal slowly pulsed, before a bright blue glow suffused the courtyard. Naruto squirmed uncomfortably in the seal, before his eyes slowly started to droop. Blue slowly started to shift into red, before a tower of crimson chakra exploded upwards…in much the same way as before. Everything was going well, the red chakra suffusing well before a loud cry of pain echoed through the clearing.

"ARA-KUN!"

Heads turned, shocked, towards the boy as he squirmed on the ground…holding his stomach. The kitsune illusion faded, both tails and ears writhing and twitching. '_PAIN!' _ Kyuu winced at the mental assault as she knelt down, hands fluttering nervously over the squirming boy as he cried out again. Sarutobi and Kakashi ran over, since Minato and Kushina had to keep the seal working or risk losing Naruto as well.

"What the hell is going on?!" Kakashi stared down at the boy, unknowing as to what he should do. Sarutobi was not better. Tsunade was the medical expert, and he had forgotten to inform both her and Jirayia that they were doing this now.



"I….I don't know. It seems something from the seal is messing with him, but that doesn't make any sense since it's gone. Unless…." Kyuu turned to stare at Naruto, before her eyes widened. Minato and Kushina both understood instantly. '_The bond!'_

"I don't know what we can do. Arashi and Naruto share a special mental connection, a bond. It's how Arashi knew that Naruto was attacked. He even felt his pain. I didn't think it would carry over to the fusion."

They watched as Arashi slowly stilled, his breath erratic with pain as they wrung their hands.

"I don't know."

* * *

_Unknown_

_Naruto slowly opened his eyes, finding himself hanging in a white void. Blinking slowly, he slowly felt something solid form under his feet…allowing him to stand. Shaking himself, he looked around…before spotting a black spot in the distance. Shrugging, he made his way towards it….only to be interrupted by a voice._

"_Goddamnit, I never wanted to go through that again. Stupid otouto-chan." Grinning, Naruto dashed towards the black spot as it stirred, slowly standing up._

"_Neh nii-san, you ok? You look like you got beat by an Akimichi!"_

_Arashi scowled, before glancing around…startled at the sheer, well, whiteness of the place._

"_Where the hell did you bring us? I never saw this place when I fused."_

_Naruto shrugged, and was about to reply when a series of loud slams echoed in the empty space. Doors of different colors slammed into the ground around them, forming a complete circle around them. Both boys stared at them, reading the inscriptions on the doors face._

_Void…_

_Celestial…_

_Quicksilver…_

_The names continued on and on, each seeming to detail something. _

"_Well, this is odd." They both scratched their heads, before turning back to the doors._

"_**You have no idea."**_

_Spinning around, they got into a fighting stance…before just staring. Before them was a….girl? Or was it a boy? They had a hard time finding out. The person wore loose white robes trimmed in gold, with ten white tails flitting back and forth behind….it._

"_**Before you ask, neither my name nor who I am is important, at least for now. I am sure you are wondering why you are here."**_

_Eyeing the two boys, and seeing no interruption, he continued. __**"Kitsune are divided in both their elements and their domains. The doors you see before you contain an element, and the smaller symbols on each door represent a domain."**_

"_**You both were brought here because you are a very special case. Not only are you two linked together, but linked to the only other nine tailed kitsune in existence. As such, your element along with your domain was and is a blank slate…enabling you to choose."**_

_Naruto and Arashi listened in quiet awe, gazing around at the doors…before a cough brought their attention back to the robed kitsune._

"_**Before you make your choice, remember this. Kitsune rule their domain, but their domain also rules them. If you turn to the domain of the Chaos Kitsune, as the Kyuubi did, you will be granted untold powers of destruction. However, while having the Chaos coat…if you were NOT to cause destruction and instead helped others…you would lose your tails. It is a double edged sword, one which you must choose wisely."**_

_With that said, the white kitsune slowly faded from reality, leaving the brothers to make their choices. Glancing towards each other, they spread out…examining the doors. There seemed to be an endless amount of combinations, but ironically they both seemed to come back to the exact same door._

_Guardian._

_Sort of funny in a way, but it fit them to a tee. Smiling, they both reached out…._

* * *

_Konoha Outskirts – Mansion_

The massive tower of red chakra slowly flickered, then started to die out….before disappearing completely, Narutos' limp body slowly flopping to the ground. Sweating, Minato and Kushina slowly stood up before faltering…their bodies phasing slightly. Nodding to Sarutobi, they disappeared in a poof of smoke…leaving the remaining five in the clearing.



Kyuu was beside herself with worry. Two of them had left from consuming too much energy running the seal, and Naruto and Arashi still hadn't moved. Biting her lower lip, she reached down and gently touched Arashi's face…before gasping as his own hand reached up to grab her own. Grunting, he slowly got to his feet, noticing his brother doing the same not too far away.

"You know, that did NOT feel good. At all."

Of course, having a girl squeal and tackle you didn't help matters either way…but he wasn't going to complain too much. Grinning, he nudged Kyuu-chan…before nodding towards his brother.

Naruto was, well he wasn't sure how he was feeling to be honest. Though having furry things sticking out above your ass tended to change ones outlook on life. Reaching behind him, he stared at the seven golden tails tipped with red…before reaching up and gently poking his ears. Turning to his brother, he was about to make a comment when he squinted…eyeing his brother.

"Ne, nii-san….I thought your tails, ears and hair were red?"

Arashi blinked, before peeking behind him…shocked to see his formally red tails were now gold as well tipped with silver. Kyuu-chan, sensing his unsaid question, nodded. "Your ears are gold tipped with silver too Ara-kun, the same with your hair." She didn't mention that she was curious as hell to know WHY his coat changed, but she wasn't going to press for answers. He'd tell her in due time.

Sarutobi cleared his throat, nudging the dozing Kakashi away…who blinked his one eye sleepily.

"Now that this is handled, you two will have to conceal your features for a small bit longer…at least until we deem the village ready to handle your new appearances. Since it's late, you four should stay in the mansion tonight…and come into Konoha at your earliest convenience." Lowering the edge of his hat to hide his smile, the old man poofed away to leave the four tired ningen to sleep their worries away.

_Konoha – Hokage Tower_

Naruto and Arashi stood at attention in front of the old man's' desk, Kakashi and Kyuu standing off to the side watching quietly.

Naruto had significantly changed his wardrobe overnight, and it was easily seen who had influenced him. His previous clothes were gone, to be replaced with an almost exact replica of his brothers except for the fact his trench coat was outlined in orange and not silver…with his unruly blonde hair hanging slightly in his eyes.



"Good, now that you are both here…I have some other news to impart. I have recently given Kakashi a set of keys to your parents' old house and estate. Your belongings were moved their earlier this morning before you came in. It's close to the Hyuuga Estate, so I doubt you will have any problems."

"Arashi, I trust you and Kyuu have come up with a believable name and cover story?" Seeing their nods, he continued," You both will live with Kakashi and Naruto on the Namikaze grounds of course, so that takes care of lodgings. Kakashi, I'm giving you two days paid leave. This way you all will have plenty of time to get adjusted."

Getting a loud 'Hhhhaaaiiiii' in response, he chuckled and waved them away…watching as they filed out the door.

_I wonder Naruto-kun, Arashi-kun….just how far you two will go._

* * *

_Ninja Academy – One month later…._

The long month after that fateful evening was full of different surprises. The estate was huge, with a compound easily able to fit over one hundred members without strain. It even included a hot spring and dojo, and the library containing the family scrolls was incredible expansive.

The estate itself was lush, beautiful in its greenery and expansive in its size. A small creek crossed the estate, and beautiful stone bridges spanned the bubbling brook…small silvery fish dancing in its shimmering depths. In short, it was a paradise.

Outside the estate however, things had taken a small turn for the worst. Kiba and Sakura, while never on the best terms with Naruto and now Arashi, seemed to have become colder towards the Uzumaki brothers. They were never violent, instead staying coldly aloof….but a day never passed when either brother didn't feel a glare boring into the back of their skulls.

Shrugging it off mentally, they settled into the gathering class…just as Iruka walked in.

"Good morning class. I'm sorry to say that Mizuki-sensei will be unable to join us today due to extenuating circumstances. Now, when I call your name please come down and go through the door on your left for your graduation exam."

Time seemed to crawl as Arashi and Naruto made a pretty good impression of Shikamaru, which caused Hinata to giggle to no end…unaware of the small smile Shikamaru was also wearing. Shino had joined them as well, deep in conversation (or so they guessed) with the bug perched on one finger…Chouji happily munching chips beside him. Ino was tapping her fingers in boredom, while Kiba and Sakura either stared into space or glared holes into Naruto and/or Arashi.



Arashi was keeping score of who they glared at the most. So far Naruto was ahead by two, damn cheater.

"Uzumaki Naruto"

Grinning to himself, Naruto bounded down the stairs and into side room. A few minutes, and one loud yell later, he sauntered back out with a grin and a headband tied securely around on bicep.

"Uzumaki Arashi"

Yawning, Arashi walked past his brother, sharing an evil grin with him before disappearing into the room below. Hinata grinned at her Naruto-kun, happy he passed…though she wished to everything she was he'd stop using that damnable Oiroke no Jutsu. Her thoughts were cut off as Arashi walked out as well along with Iruka…who was alternating between smiling and scowling, though the pink face paint highlighted his cheekbones nicely.

"Congratulations on passing the Genin Exam. Tomorrow, you will come here at 6am sharp to be put into your teams. I expect you all to be here, and NOT be late." Insert pointed stare at two cheekily grinning Uzumaki.

"Now get out of here, and I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

I WAS going to put the team assignments in this chapter, but it didn't seem to fit quite right with what I have planned, so I left it for the next chapter.

Again I do apologize for the late chapter. Now, to get some shit off my chest.

I write because it is a hobby of mine. I enjoy doing it, and I'm always happy to know people's opinions on my work. I welcome wholeheartedly constructive reviews, as they help me become a better writer. However, there is a difference between constructive and being a pompous person who DEMANDS that "this is what should happen!". Listen, this is my story. I am glad to ask for opinion and plan to even through a few polls up for reader feedback. But I don't HAVE to do shit for anyone. This is my story…if you don't like it then don't read it.

The same applies to people who think Arashi and Naruto are "overpowered" and "Mary Sues". Not only have I not gone into detail regarding their training yet, but it's automatically assumed they are "ZOMG SO POWARFULZ!". Naruto and Arashi are powerful in their own right yes, but nowhere near what some people think. Contrary to what some think, no they don't know the Rasengan yet….nor do they know the Hiraishin. They have extremely large chakra reserves, but then again so does Naruto in canon. And as I have yet to detail exactly WHAT they have learned from their respective sensei's, and the fact I 

haven't even written a fight yet, no one has the right to comment on anything in regards to power. This is the very last time I will answer anything in regards to them being overpowered. As I said, don't like it? Stop reading.

That very unpleasant business finished, I would like to say thank you to the readers of mine who have given me constructive criticism and what little praise I have gotten. It's for you people that I write, when I do write for others.

Until next time, Ja ne!

_Hijutsu: Ai no Mokou – _Secret Technique: Love from Beyond.

This technique was specifically made by the Shinigami to summon Narutos' and Arashi's parents from the temporary seal they both share. It has no other use.

_Ninpou: Fugen no Ankoku – _Ninja Art: Silence and Darkness

This is a technique used by ANBU to create a soundproof, doujutsu proof barrier around a small enclosure. Its primary use is to keep prying eyes from spying in area they need not be in.

_Fuuinjutsu: Nyuukai no Joukai Tsuchi – _Sealing Arts: Heaven and Earth Joining

A technique recently created by the deceased Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato. Its sole function is to take the chakra of a Bijuu and fuse it with that of its host…bringing the two in harmony with each other.

_Edit: It seems my line breaks aren't working for some reason. Sorry for the constant editing._


	8. Update

Evening folks! Sadly this is not an update (to the story anyway, least not yet), but to bring some news that may or may not be good. Depends on your view. After some thinking and alot of real life crap, I've finally come back! Couple things will be changed this time around, hopefully all good.

Twilights Dawn: I personally feel I failed this story. If I can salvage it, I will... or I may just rewrite it without Arashi. I may try to salvage it, but the balance between the two characters is delicate and has to be managed correctly or else it seems I'm favoring one or the other.

In the End: This one has been strangely popular, so I think I should pay it a little more tribute. The ending I had planned for it, but scrapped due to time constraints, will most likely be added. Hopefully this will add more closure to it.

Rule 45: New fic! This will most likely be the top fic I'm working on at the moment (until I figure out what to do with Twilight). I have tons of ideas for this, including one I haven't seen used yet... at least in fics I've read.

There is more info on my profile, so look for updates soon!


End file.
